YVR Radisson Blu hotel breached Labour Code multiple times amid strike action: union

A union representing striking hotel workers in Vancouver says the Radisson Blu hotel has breached Labour Code multiple times amid ongoing strike action.

Workers at the hotel have been on strike since the employer terminated 143 long-term workers two years ago, and are calling for their jobs back. They aren’t alone in striking either, as hotel workers at the Hyatt Regency, Westin Bayshore, and Pinnacle Harbourfront all voted in favour of strike action in July.

Michelle Travis with Unite Here Local 40 says the employer admitted to over a dozen breaches of the code.

“It’s illegal for them to hire replacement workers to do the work of bargaining unit members,” she said. “It’s also illegal for them to backfill the jobs of bargaining unit members, and what that means is using hiring new managers to free up managers who have been on staff so that they can do bargaining unit work.”

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Travis says the Radisson Blue has admitted to using contractors for maintenance duties, cleaning rooms, and preparing them for guests — things the Labour Code is supposed to bar them from doing while workers are on strike.

In regard to the status of the strike and whether progress has been made between the union and the employer, Travis says a mediator is involved with negotiations, but says progress needs to be made before any resolution is reached.

“It’s been a very slow process, we haven’t reached an agreement that workers can feel good about,” she said, noting the union’s primary demand is to ensure the workers who were dismissed are offered their jobs back.

CityNews has reached out to the Radisson Blu for comment on the matter.