August 25, 2017
Victoria—Workers at the Hotel Grand Pacific have voted 92% in favour of a new three-year collective agreement that secures, among other things, wage gains and a pension plan.
“Unifor contracts in the hotel sector are a ticket to a living wage and job security,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Hotel workers deserve to share in the success and profits of their employers.”
The new agreement with Hotel Grand Pacific achieves the Unifor pattern for the hospitality sector, assuring Local 114 members a 2.5% annual wage increase, leave for workers facing domestic abuse, a transit subsidy, and stronger health and safety protections for housekeepers. The contract also adds Grand Pacific workers to the Unifor pension plan, which is portable to other Unifor-organized employers in the hospitality sector.
Pattern bargaining ensures that unionized workers in a sector make gains together and nobody is left behind.
Unifor represents over 10,000 workers in the hospitality industry across Canada, including workers at the nearby Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria.
“Unifor is committed to fairness and respect for hospitality workers,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Hospitality workers make an important contribution to British Columbia’s travel and tourism economy, and they deserve a decent standard of living.”
Unifor Local 114 represents almost 150 Grand Pacific workers in the housekeeping, culinary, groundskeeping, serving, guest relations, maintenance, and engineering.
For more information, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Ian Boyko at ian.boyko@unifor.org or 778-903-6549 (cell).