All four casinos that are run by Loto-Quebec remain functional. This is in spite of the fact that there is an ongoing union strike. The strike is with regard to the organization’s employees, such as the security officers, the first cooks, the slot attendants, and the housekeeping staff that the union is representing.
As per sources from the crown corporation, the employees are insisting on a salary hike of 24%, whereas the agreed figure was less than half of the amount being paid to the remaining staff. In their opinion, they are already paying the staff as per the industry standards, and it is being dispersed amongst a head count of 1,700 staff members currently working for them in the casinos, as well as in online gaming and backend workers.
Presently, the security officers receive $67,425, whereas the first cooks get $65,194. The slot attendants make $70,575, and the housekeepers $57,648. The organization has taken on another 300 staff for the casinos.
Loto Quebec is known to run Casino de Montreal, along with Hotel-Casino du Lac-Leamy, Casino de Mont-Tremblant, and Hotel-Casino de Charlevoix. There is an addition of two gaming halls, namely, the Salon de jeux de Quebec and Salon de jeux de Trois-Rivières. Some of the properties are running as per their original schedule, whereas some have restricted timing.
As per the President of the Casino de Montreal-CSN security workers unit, Riccardo Scopelleti, the ongoing strike seems to be creating a stalemate situation. Everything is moving around the salary structure. Where the union is concerned, their demand is a three-year understanding, but the management is insisting on it being for a five-year period.
According to him, the previous three years have witnessed an exodus of 1,400 employees who have left for greener pastures. This is across verticals like online casinos, gambling, betting, and sports betting. The current staff is insisting that the newcomers be paid 10% less than what they are receiving, another spoke in the wheel, in his opinion. His suggestion to the management is to be more competitive if the attrition rate is to be lowered. Currently, the overall scenario is indeed making a dent in the revenues of the organization, but the idea is to try and meet halfway, is what he spells out.
