Don’t bet on end soon to Valley casino strike
Gateway Casinos, union remain entrenched over wages as mediated talks fail in 3rd month of strike
As a strike involving Okanagan casino workers enters its third month, both the union and company accuse each other of being unreasonable in negotiations.
Gateway Casinos says the BC Government & Service Employees’ Union, which represents 600 striking workers at casinos in Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops, is asking for wage increases of 24 per cent.
“Their wage proposals remain above the wages of even the largest casinos operating 24-7 in Metro Vancouver,” the company said in a statement released Tuesday.
For its part, the union says Gateway’s wage offer would leave Interior casino workers earning significantly less than their counterparts at the Coast.
“The wages Gateway Casinos are offering are well below wages casino workers are making on the Coast for the same work,” said union president Stephanie Smith said. “The company’s wage offer will see most workers hovering around minimum wage by the second year of the agreement.”
After five weeks of no talks between the two sides, negotiations resumed last week with the help of a mediator. But those talks also broke off.
Gateway says it is proposing wage increases for casino workers of between seven and 19 per cent in the first year of a new contract. Hourly wages for casino workers, the company notes, are in addition to tips received by the employees, which average between $8 and $12 an hour.
“We are very disappointed that we are again at the end of a mediation session without a tentative collective agreement,” reads Gateway’s statement. “Over 600 of our employees have now been on strike for more than 10 weeks — which is causing harm to them and to the business.
“Everyone is losing except for the union leadership, who continue to get paid regularly, and they are the ones who continue to stall the process,” Gateway says.
The union disputes Gateway’s claim it can’t afford to pay significantly higher wages.
“We asked them to back up that claim by showing the mediator their financials for the entire company and they refused,” Smith said. “What are they hiding? How can workers believe Gateway Casinos aren’t profitable enough to pay living wages in the Interior when the company won’t even let a third-party mediator verify that claim?”
While the casinos are behind picket lines, they remain open during the strike with managers doing the work. Provincial labour law prohibits companies from hiring replacement workers during a strike or lockout.