The International Olympic Committee was embarrassed on Thursday morning when workers from the luxury hotel occupied by its delegation at Paris 2024 went on strike, claiming they have not received a pay rise for seven years.
A group of chefs, waiters and technical staff at the five-star Hôtel du Collectionneur began a two-hour protest at 7am, causing some disruption to the breakfast service. It is understood to have bred consternation at the top of the International Olympic Committee, who will host regular dinners and events at the venue.
One such function is due to take place this evening and there is an awareness that further strike action over the next two and a half weeks could present an even more awkward scenario. The Olympic organisers are believed to have paid approximately £18.5m for sole use of the premises during the Games.
Union Départementale CGT Paris (UD CGT), a trade union representing the workers, posted a video from inside the hotel showing around a dozen staff lining one of the corridors used by guests. Some waved the union’s flags and others held notices 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. It claims that, despite a dividend of over £8m being handed to shareholders this year, no breakthrough has been made in improving the financial position of its staff.
The Guardian understands that the offer of a 2% salary increase, made on Wednesday during the latest of five meetings in a negotiation with UD CGT that began in June, was rejected and led to the strike. Hôtel du Collectionneur is thought to be an outlier among Paris’s luxury hotels in not having reached agreements with its workers before the Olympics.
Central to the workers’ demands is a “13th month”, which is a common salary addition in France. It is essentially a bonus, or variable pay structure, in which an extra month’s payment is received annually in December. While not mandatory, it is viewed as standard in the high-end hotel sector. The stance among Hôtel Du Collectionneur’s strikers is that the total of their demands represents only one 20th of its contract with the IOC.
On Thursday the Guardian was turned away from the hotel, access to which is tightly limited, but IOC guests and dignitaries could be seen moving around the venue freely. It was also used by Uefa, European football’s governing body, for a high-profile congress in February.
Asked about the strike and its connotations, the IOC said the issue did not pertain to its organisation or to the Olympic Games.
The Gate Collection, which runs Hôtel du Collectionneur, said in a statement: “For several months now, the management of the Hôtel du Collectionneur has been conducting constructive negotiations with staff representatives concerning the 13th month’s pay for employees. These discussions are progressing in a climate of mutual respect and cooperation. Our hotel will continue to operate optimally during this period. Our teams remain committed to guaranteeing a unique experience for our guests.”
