Contract talks stall; workers at Rideau Carleton Raceway locked out
Posted Dec 16, 2015 06:12:18 AM.
Last Updated Dec 16, 2015 10:34:05 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The two sides haggling over a new contract for workers at OLG Rideau Carleton Raceway are at an impasse.
More than 100 workers are locked out after a breakdown in bargaining on a new contract. The 124 employees include parking lot attendants, housekeepers and cashiers.
Contract talks between OLG and the Public Service Alliance of Canada have been ongoing since May of 2014.
The latest offer from OLG contained a wage-freeze for the first two years of the contract, but representatives from P-SAC rejected that, saying the employees make considerably less than others in similar jobs at other OLG operations.
Workers at Rideau Carleton haven’t had a raise in six years.
In a statement, P-SAC says it will provide health and dental coverage for the employees, as OLG has cut their coverage.
Meantime, OLG has issued a statement regarding the dispute, saying a conciliator was requested to help reach a collective agreement, but that P-SAC took a strike vote, putting the parties in a legal strike position.
OLG says it was not their intention to lock out employees before or during the Christmas season, and they are willing to go back to the bargaining table.
While the lockout is ongoing, Rideau Carleton Raceway remains open on reduced hours, from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., seven days a week.
There is some reduced services — no coat check, valet parking or shuttle bus.
