Media Release: Labour Day Marks 13th Day of Strike for Coast Victoria Hotel Workers
Victoria, BC — As Canada celebrates Labour Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the struggles, achievements, and essential contributions of working people, workers at Coast Victoria Hotel continue their fight on the picket line. Today marks the 13th consecutive day of their strike action, a courageous fight for living wages, fair workloads, and proper staffing levels.
The strike began after months of unsuccessful negotiations with hotel management, who have failed to address key issues that workers say are undermining their livelihoods and well-being. Workers are seeking living wages to meet the high cost of living in Victoria; fair housekeeping workloads so that room attendants have sufficient time to complete tasks and avoid injury; and proper staffing levels to address understaffing that impacts the quality of service for guests, as well as the health and safety of workers.
The Coast Victoria Hotel strike has galvanized local support from unions and community organizations. Throughout the strike, supporters and hotel customers have joined the picket line in solidarity with workers who are leading the call for better quality hospitality jobs in Victoria.
Victoria, like many Canadian cities, is facing a severe affordability crisis. The cost of housing, groceries, and other basics have increased, while wages have lagged behind. Hotel workers, the backbone of Victoria’s tourism economy, have seen the hotel business rebound far beyond pre-pandemic levels, while pay and working conditions do not reflect their essential contributions.
The strike at Coast Victoria Hotel is part of a larger wave of worker activism across the hospitality industry and other sectors of BC’s economy. This Labour Day, workers across sectors are voicing similar concerns to demand fair pay, manageable workloads, and dignified conditions.
“Labour Day is about the power and value of working people,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “Coast Victoria workers are carrying on a proud tradition of standing up for fairness, not only for themselves but for all workers in our community.”
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