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Casino workers in Quebec to hold another one-day strike

Workers from the Montreal Casino were on strike Friday, just as Grand Prix weekend starts in Montreal. (Stephane Giroux/CTV News) Workers from the Montreal Casino were on strike Friday, just as Grand Prix weekend starts in Montreal. (Stephane Giroux/CTV News)
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Some casino employees in Quebec will be holding another one-day strike on Thursday.

The strike mainly involves casino support staff. Dealers are not on strike.

The one-day walkout will affect catering, security and maintenance services, for example, except at Mont-Tremblant, where croupiers will be affected.

Loto-Québec reports that four sites and online games will be affected "in a limited way" as managers also provide services. As a result, the Montreal, Charlevoix and Mont-Tremblant casinos will be open Thursday from 2 p.m. to midnight. At the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, regular business hours will apply.

The 1,700 workers are members of the CSN-affiliated Fédération des employés des services publics.

DISPUTE CENTERS ON WAGES

The union is demanding increases equivalent to the rise in the cost of living plus $1 per hour. It argues that the Société des casinos and Loto-Québec are making good profits and that workers should benefit from this. The union says it refuses to allow its members to become poorer.

For its part, Loto-Québec claims to offer "good working conditions to all its employees. Casino salaries are well above the reference market, at over 20% for the majority of job categories."

"The value of the union's current demands corresponds to more than twice what has been granted to all the organization's other employees over the past year," says Loto-Québec.

Seven other collective agreements affecting other employees were renewed in the casinos in 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 21, 2023.

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