Hilton Vancouver Metrotown hotel workers are back at the bargaining table after voting to strike last week, according to a spokesperson with the workers' union, Unite Here.
The strike could be averted if the workers approve the most recent contract offer put forward by Hilton management, Amarjeet Kaur Chhabra said in an interview Monday.
"They will make a decision tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 8, after NOW print deadlines)," Chhabra said. "But we're prepared to go full force, as far as strike preparation goes."
The Unite Here Local 40 hotel workers have been without a contract since June 2010 and have been negotiating a new contract since this past June.
Hotel room attendants are suffering from job-related injuries and have begun to wear buttons stating, "Housekeepers get injured here," according to a press release from the union.
The union wants a safe and sustainable workload for room attendants, fair compensation for banquet workers and adequate wages for all the workers, the release stated.
Last Thursday, 143 members voted to strike, out of a total of 155 at the meeting, according to Hilton laundry supervisor Monina Aprong.
Aprong has worked at the Hilton since it opened, she said.
"We have a lot of issues," she said, list-ing wages, pensions, retroactive pay, benefits, and safety and wellness concerns.
"We're working so hard. The work is so physical," she said.
"We're fighting for respect, too," Aprong added, saying the workers want management to acknowledge their concerns.
"They need to address these issues and make some improvements," she said.
The union wants the same wages for Hilton Vancouver Metrotown workers that it negotiated with the Greater Vancouver Hotel Employers Association for Vancouver hotels last year, she said.
The association ratified a four-year collective agreement with Vancouver hotel workers last December after their contract ran out in June 2010.
The agreement included wage increases of $1.84 per hour over the four-year contract.
The Metrotown workers were previously offered an 82-cent-per-hour increase, less than half of the amount given to the downtown hotel workers, according to Aprong.
"We want a fair contract," Aprong said. "We have the same needs as the downtown workers."
Ed Jaskula, general manager of Hilton Vancouver Metrotown, said everyone is back at the table and he thinks they'll have a deal soon.
"It's difficult times for everybody," he said, adding that the hotel was affected by the recession but that employees are facing increasing costs as well.
"I hope there'll be a solution at the end that will be the best one for everyone," Jaskula said of the negotiations.
