Loto-Québec: professionals on strike again on September 10

Lia Levesque, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — The 455 professionals employed by Loto-Québec will go on strike again starting September 10.

Their union, that of Quebec government professionals (SPGQ), said on Tuesday that its members had rejected by 72% the agreement in principle which had been reached between the parties on August 25 for the renewal of their agreement. collective.

These professionals will therefore strike again from September 10 and, this time, it will be a general and unlimited strike, said in an interview Lydia Martel, first vice-president of the Syndicate of Professionals of the Government of Quebec.

Previously, they had held a six-day strike, out of their 20-day mandate.

It was the proposed salary increases that were the main problem, Ms. Martel reported. “One of the main reasons is that they are not happy with the salary offer: salary increases of two per cent, in 2022, at the present time, with the current rate of inflation, it is like a slap in the face for them,” she reported.

Restrictions on telework were also a problem, since the agreement in principle provided that it was authorized up to four days a week, for 30 months. Afterwards, nothing was guaranteed, according to Ms. Martel.

These members of the SPGQ work in procurement, information technology, communications, sales and marketing, finance, real estate and the legal department.

Ms. Martel notes that computer-based lotteries could be affected, slowed down, since the majority of these professionals work in information technology.

Invited to comment, the management of Loto-Québec had not yet made its comments known, at the time of this writing.