Concordia’s halls and classroom might grow dusty as the association representing sanitation workers for the university went on strike early Tuesday.
At issue are what workers consider dismal raises, which have only gone up 75 cents in the past decade.
“We’re not asking for charity from our boss, we’re asking for a regular life,” said cleaner Gilles Rheaume, who’s been taking care of the Bryan Building for the past four years.
The cleaners work for Distinction cleaning services, and are demanding a 75 cents per hour raise annually for the next five years to make up for past years of inaction.
Concordia wasn’t the only place to feel the strike’s effects. Their union, Local 800 of the Quebec Federation of Labour’s union service employees, represents over 4,000 cleaners in companies around Montreal.
There are 13 cleaners at Loyola and about 30 on the downtown campus.
“I have a family with two young kids. When I started, I made $250/week at 40 hours a week. Now I make $300/week for 35 hours of work. That’s not normal,” said Rheaume, who has been working for over ten years.
Starting salary for the cleaners is $12.15 an hour. Distinction was offering a 30 cents per hour raise for the first year, and 25 cents for the following three years. A 63 per cent vote by the union rejected the offer over the weekend. The cleaners say they will continue to strike until they hear a good offer.
“We’re not living, we’re existing,” said Rheaume.
Distinction and the Concordia administration could not be reached at press time.
At issue are what workers consider dismal raises, which have only gone up 75 cents in the past decade.
“We’re not asking for charity from our boss, we’re asking for a regular life,” said cleaner Gilles Rheaume, who’s been taking care of the Bryan Building for the past four years.
The cleaners work for Distinction cleaning services, and are demanding a 75 cents per hour raise annually for the next five years to make up for past years of inaction.
Concordia wasn’t the only place to feel the strike’s effects. Their union, Local 800 of the Quebec Federation of Labour’s union service employees, represents over 4,000 cleaners in companies around Montreal.
There are 13 cleaners at Loyola and about 30 on the downtown campus.
“I have a family with two young kids. When I started, I made $250/week at 40 hours a week. Now I make $300/week for 35 hours of work. That’s not normal,” said Rheaume, who has been working for over ten years.
Starting salary for the cleaners is $12.15 an hour. Distinction was offering a 30 cents per hour raise for the first year, and 25 cents for the following three years. A 63 per cent vote by the union rejected the offer over the weekend. The cleaners say they will continue to strike until they hear a good offer.
“We’re not living, we’re existing,” said Rheaume.
Distinction and the Concordia administration could not be reached at press time.