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LCBO stores face two-week closure
Workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) began strike action today (5 July) after talks with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) broke down.
LCBO’s retail locations will now close for 14 days, while online ordering remains available. The firm stated that if the strike continues longer than 14 days, 32 stores will reopen for limited hours.
The union believes more than 9,000 LCBO workers will participate in strike action.
“Doug Ford wants to make life better for his wealthy friends,” said OPSEU president JP Hornick. “It’s why he’s wasting upwards of a billion dollars of our money to fast-track privatised alcohol sales and hand more of the public revenues generated by the LCBO over to the CEOs and big-box grocery and convenience chains like Loblaws and Circle K.”
In a vote, 86% of OPSEU members turned out, with 97% voting to strike.
The union’s demands include an expansion of public retail locations and in-house capacity for warehousing and logistics, as well as moving casual roles to permanent positions.
Another key issue for the union is the government’s decision to sell ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages in convenience and grocery stores.
The LCBO issued a statement on its dedicated negotiation site: “LCBO is disappointed that the leadership of the OPSEU has decided to initiate the first strike in our long history.
“For the past several months, we have engaged in collective bargaining with OPSEU in hopes of reaching a fair and equitable agreement that addresses their considerations while ensuring the long-term sustainability of our operations. Despite our best efforts, we have not yet been able to do so.
“LCBO is committed to maintaining the highest standards of service that we can during this challenging time. We have implemented contingency plans to help minimise disruption as much as possible and ensure that our products remain available to our valued retail and wholesale customers. We will be operating our business, but it is not business as usual.”
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