TORONTO — Members of Unifor’s Local 7575 unit have announced an agreement with their employers at the Delta Hotels by Marriott’s Toronto Airport & Conference Centre.
The new contract helps ensure part-time staff working at least 24 hours per week will have the opportunity to move to full-time status. Over the term of the three-year contract, wages will increase 10.6 per cent — the largest increase in the history of the hotel.
“We’re making significant progress turning more precarious casual and part-time jobs into full-time jobs,” says Jerry Dias, Unifor national president. “Now that (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford is stripping workers of basic rights, creating secure full-time work in Ontario’s hospitality industry is even more important.”
News of the agreement follows months of negotiations between the hotel and Unifor’s Local 7575 unit, whose representatives say the structure of the expired collective agreement trapped part-time workers in part-time status.
Employers at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport & Conference Centre announced health benefits will be maintained and improved, while major increases in pension contributions have also been announced.
The union was also successful in creating a women’s-advocate position in the collective agreement and workload protections for room attendants have also been secured.
At a time when the hospitality industry struggles to attract and retain employees, Arminda Chang, shop steward for the banquet department at the hotel, says the agreement could have a ripple effect for the airport strip.
“Airport-hotel workers deserve the stability and security of full-time work,” says Chang. “Our new Unifor contract is a giant step forward and will raise the bar for the airport strip.”
