As it had mentioned recently, the union of 1000 employees of the Casino de Montreal launched Thursday the five-day strike mandate exercisable at the “opportune moment”, that is to say during the very busy weekend. of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The strike mandate also affects the three other casinos of the state-owned Loto-Québec company located in Gatineau, at the Manoir Richelieu in Charlevoix and at the Mont-Tremblant tourist resort.
About ten days ago, after obtaining a 91% vote in favor of a five-day strike mandate, the union leaders of the employees of the Casino de Montreal had indicated that they intended to use the uniform of a major event like the Grand Prix to put pressure on the employer with whom he is negotiating, Loto-Québec, since June 2022.
The question of salary is at the center of the dispute. Employees are asking for raises that are “equivalent to the cost of living increase plus $1 an hour” to “protect employees’ purchasing power and improve attraction and retention.”
“The salary is the only thing left to settle. We settled the standard just before the holidays, but since February, it hasn’t made any headway in seven meetings with the employer,” said the president of the security workers’ union at the Casino de Montréal. , Riccardo Scopelleti.
The unionized employees affected by the strike mandate work in customer service, catering and security at the casinos operated by Loto-Québec. In all, 31 work departments are affected, from slot machine attendants to housekeeping employees.
On the other hand, casino croupiers are not affected by this strike mandate, since they are represented by another union.
The croupiers had also held various means of pressure last year, before agreeing with their employer in August.
