Press Release: Paradies Lagardère Lowers YVR Airport Job Standards Ahead of World Cup, Says New Report

Vancouver, BC – A new report from UNITE HERE Local 40 scrutinizes Vancouver International Airport’s partnership with Paradies Lagardère—a concessions operator that, according to workers, pays low wages and provides precarious schedules.

YVR, consistently ranked the #1 airport in North America, became a certified Living Wage Employer in 2022. Despite this commitment, the report, What’s Wrong with Paradies at North America’s #1 Airport, details how concession workers employed by Paradies Lagardère remain trapped in low-wage, precarious jobs while their counterparts at other food and retail outlets move toward living wages.

For example, baristas at its Pacific Farms Market earn BC’s minimum wage of $17.85 per hour—a 43% gap compared to competitors like SSP and HMSHost, where employees will earn over $25/hour in 2025. Paradies operates approximately 16 retail and food units across the airport. According to wage data and reports by workers, the average wage earned was $18.49/hour—46% below the regional living wage of $27.05.

“These jobs are overwhelmingly staffed by racialized immigrant women who welcome the world to Vancouver. Paradies workers are being left behind,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40.

The report raises concerns that YVR’s continued relationship with Paradies may erode job standards across the airport:

  • Low Wages and Tip Concerns: Paradies workers earn, on average, $18.49/hour—46% below the regional living wage of $27.05. Some workers also reported a lack of transparency around cash tips and no access to electronic tipping.
  • Precarious Scheduling: Employees said they were routinely given fewer than 20 hours a week, even if they had been hired as for a full-time position.
  • Allegations of Labour Rights Violations: A known union supporter was fired one day after workers voted to unionize at Pacific Farms Market. A complaint has been filed with the BC Labour Relations Board.
  • Health and Safety Red Flags: Paradies operations in U.S. airports have faced shutdowns and repeated food safety violations in the past two years due to pest infestations, poor hygiene, and a lack of trained staff.

Paradies’ parent company, Paradies Lagardère Travel Retail division, reported €5.8 billion in revenue in 2024 and a record €305 million in recurring profits, yet continues to resist living wage policies that competitors at YVR have embraced.

“No worker should fear losing their job because they demand a living wage,” Chan said. “With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, YVR has a chance to position itself as a leader among Vancouver’s key institutions as a host city. We must convene all stakeholders and ensure that the benefits of increased international travel are shared fairly with the workers and communities who make that success possible––just like airports in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where concessions operators are required to pay living wages.”

UNITE HERE Local 40 is calling on the Vancouver Airport Authority to:

  • Condition all of Paradies’ future concession contracts on the payment of a living wage, as defined by Living Wage BC.
  • Deny contracts to operators who interfere with workers’ right to organize or who have committed labour violations.
  • Guarantee stable scheduling and adequate hours for full-time workers at Paradies.

“YVR has the power to shape the kind of airport we want—one where no worker is left behind,” said Chan. “Paradies should not be rewarded for cutting costs on the backs of women and immigrant workers.”

 CONTACT: Nate Holers, 250-889-7682, [email protected]

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 UNITE HERE Local 40 is British Columbia’s hospitality workers union representing workers in airport concessions, airline catering, hotels and food service.