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UPDATED: Job action averted at Empress Hotel

Workers gave 72-hour notice right before the Labour Day long weekend. Both sides have now reached a deal.
3630vicnewsEmpressWikipedia

UPDATED: The two sides have reached a tentative deal and the job action has been averted. A member of the Unifor Local 4276 Facebook page posted as such on Wednesday morning.

 

 

Unionized workers at the Empress Hotel gave 72-hour notice of job action on Tuesday morning, right before the Labour Day long weekend.

The earliest a strike could begin is Thursday morning if a deal cannot be reached.

“The ‘new’ Empress has a dirty secret: the renovations have led to harm and stress on the people who work there,” Stu Shields with Unifor said in a statement.

He said staff are being forced to work overtime because they aren’t enough people on shift. Some have worked 60 days straight.

The hotel announced its renovation plans earlier this year, including in the popular Bengal Lounge.

“The renovations are incomplete if the staffing levels remain stuck in the past,” Shields said.

Unifor Local 4276 represents nearly 500 workers at the Empress, including those in housekeeping, groundskeeping, serving, engineering and guest relations.