Staff go on strike at luxury Paris $24 million hotel hosting Olympics chiefs

Staff at the Hotel du Collectuonneur in Paris have gone on strike over pay to the embarrassment of the International Olympic Committee.

On Thursday morning, workers from the luxury hotel - where the IOC delegation for the Paris Olympics is staying - went on strike. The staff claim to have not received a pay rise for seven years, leaving the hotel shorthanded on the eve of the Games.

At 7 a.m., a group of chefs, waiters, and technical staff at the five-star Hotel du Collectionneur began a two-hour protest that disrupted the breakfast service. The IOC is set to host regular dinners and events at the venue, and the strike has undoubtedly led to concern.

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There is now reportedly heightened awareness that further strike action over the next few weeks could generate more disruption. This will cause a headache for the IOC, which is believed to have paid approximately $24 million for exclusive use of the premises during the Games’ duration.

Union Departementale CGT Paris is a trade union representing the workers. The group posted a video from inside the hotel showing around a dozen staff lining one of the corridors used by guests while some participants waved the union’s flags and others held boards with slogans such as “Luxury hotel, poverty wages” and “Give us back our social assets”.

According to UD CGT, workers at Hôtel du Collectionneur have not been given a pay rise since 2017. The group claims that no breakthrough has been made in improving the financial position of its staff, even after a dividend of $10 million was awarded to shareholders this year.

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The strike began after the latest offer of a salary increase was rejected. The workers are also demanding a “13th month”, a common salary bonus in France whereby an extra month’s pay is received annually in December.

As reported by The Guardian, Hotel du Collectionneur is believed to be the sole luxury hotel in Paris that did not reach an agreement with its workers before the Olympics. Striking staff have also pointed out that the total of their demands represents a fraction - 1/20th - of the hotel’s contract with the IOC.

Despite the strike in the morning, IOC guests and dignitaries could be seen moving around the hotel and enjoying the venue. It is a popular site; Hotel du Collectionneur was also used by UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, for a high-profile congress back in February.