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Workers at Montreal’s 950-room Queen Elizabeth Hotel launched a surprise strike on Monday, less than two weeks after its union adopted a strike mandate.

The union says its 600 members began their strike at noon and will continue until noon on Tuesday, taking up 24 hours of its 120-hour strike mandate.

“This is the first walkout to occur as part of the 11th round of co-ordinated negotiations in the CSN hotel industry,” the union said in a statement. CSN is co-ordinating negotiations between 30 hotels in Quebec.

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“In 2020, hospitality workers reached out to employers to help revive the sector, hard hit by the pandemic. Following the marked increase in the cost of living and in a context of exceptional recovery for the hotel sector, there is no reason why workers should not receive their fair share today,” explains the treasurer of the Commerce Federation (FC-CSN), Michel Valiquette. “The revenues are there, the profits too.”

“Queen Elizabeth workers are sending a clear message to their employer today. I invite all hoteliers to hear this determination. We intend to obtain good collective agreements and this is happening now. To ensure industrial peace this summer and take full advantage of the summer period, the only possible path is negotiation,” said Dominique Daigneault, president of the CSN’s Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain.

The union is seeking salary increases of 36 per cent over four years “to compensate for the loss of purchasing power linked to inflation” as well as improvements to the insurance plan, training, vacations, workload and tip sharing.

The employer said last week it wants “to have a negotiation that progresses quickly,” in the interest of the employees, the hotel and customers, and reach “a fair deal for everyone.”

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