The Canadian general trade union Unifor, which represents about 1,800 workers at five Great Canadian Casino Corporation-owned casinos in Ontario, revealed that a preliminary contract agreement was reached with the casino operator. The workers’ union, however, refused to provide more details about the agreement’s contents until after the employees on strike vote on the deal.
As explained by the workers’ union, the tentative agreement expects the approval of the staff at Casino Ajax, Elements Casino Brantford, Great Blue Heron Casino, as well as by the security workers at the Elements Casino Mohawk and Woodbine Casino. The casino workers represented by Unifor are expected to vote on the contract later this week.
Currently, more than 9,400 Canadians work at the 28 properties of the Great Canadian Casino Corp. (GCCC), which are situated in the provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick and in the state of Washington.
Tentative Agreement Announced after Ajax Casino Workers Back Possible Strike
About 1,800 casino employees have been protesting against their working conditions and wages at the five properties of the Canadian gambling operators listed above. The casino workers have been insisting on getting a pay rise, as their wages have been increased by 1.75% only over for almost a decade.
Earlier in July, almost all workers of Casino Ajax have said that they would go on strike in case that the union representing their interests did not manage to reach a fair agreement with the employer. Apart from the wage increase sought by the employees, Unifor Local 1090 has been trying to get the Great Canadian Gaming’s consent that would allow union members working at Casino Ajax to transfer to the proposed Pickering-based Durham Live facility under the collective contract with the casino.
At the time when the casino workers shared their intention to back an eventual strike, the Ajax Casino employees represented by the workers’ union called for the bargaining committee to try reading an agreement as soon as possible, as their collective agreement was set to expire on July 23rd.
Strike actions were considered the last resort for the employees who were ready to walk off their jobs in case that Unifor Local 1090 was not able to reach an agreement with the company. The union had previously highlighted the importance of the workers’ for the overall performance of the Ajax Casino and had warned that any strike actions would have led to service interruptions which on the other hand would have affected the experience and satisfaction of the casino’s customers.
A few months ago, workers’ union Unifor managed to reach a tentative contract agreement with Caesars Windsor casino, putting an end to an almost six-week strike. At the beginning of April, about 2,300 workers at the casino decided to walk off their jobs after they said no to an earlier tentative agreement.
