B.C. hotel union says high percentage of women of colour fired amounts to ‘racism and sexism’

December 10, 2021

By Vancouver Sun

A 55-year-old immigrant from The Philippines says the Pan Pacific Hotel “should be ashamed” for firing her and 58 other housekeeping and cleaning staff.

Gaa worked for 11 years at the luxury hotel on the downtown Vancouver waterfront. Since the firings, workers at the hotel have voted to join Unite Here Local 40 , which is negotiating its first collective agreement with the Pan Pacific.

The union has issued a r eport on the firings at the Pan Pacific and other B.C. hotels. The union says that 94 per cent of the 59 female workers at Pan Pacific who were fired are women of colour such as Gaa.

Gaa worked as a public area attendant cleaning and sanitizing public areas, including hallways, common areas, elevators and toilets.

“The Pan Pacific should be ashamed of what they did to us,” Gaa said. “The government gave them more than enough money to help them with whatever problem they’re facing in the pandemic.”

Source: Vancouver Sun