The union, which represents about 800 employees of Société des Alcools warehouses as well as those charged with delivering branches, will suspend the strike until next Monday.
“We don’t want to take SAQ clients hostage, and since we are finally seeing progress at the negotiating table, we are agreeing to suspend the strike for a few days in order to give talks one last chance. Michele Gratton, union advisor at the Canadian Federation of Public Employees (CUPE), explained in a press release. , that employees will be back to work tomorrow, Wednesday morning.
The strike was suspended until Monday, November 29 at 5 am. The union had called an indefinite strike on Monday morning. In addition to these two days of strike, the union organized an isolated strike day on November 16. Gratton said the vote on the strike was up to 94%.
“We are an important link in the chain that makes this crown company run and we are by far the lowest paid employees overall. Our members’ salaries are no longer competitive and they have to work more overtime than necessary due to the labor shortage,” Gratton said, adding that this shortage is leading to problems. Related to health and safety at work.
For its part, SAQ management is obligated to provide all addresses where the company stores its bottles. The union said the move reassures employers who fear hiring replacement workers.
CUPE is expected to receive a “substantial” offer from SAQ management on Tuesday. On Sunday, he said he would then see if it was appropriate to boycott his withdrawal.
As for the Société des alcools, it reported that the strike had already had a significant impact on supplies and deliveries.
Among the contentious issues are wages, overtime and occupational health and safety issues.
with the Canadian press
