Liquor workers still at odds with their employer

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This article was published 31/07/2023 (1040 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After staying on strike throughout the weekend, union members employed by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) will resume working at liquor stores throughout the province, although distribution centre staff in Winnipeg are remaining on the picket line.

Outside of refusing to work overtime, liquor store employees will also not perform several receiving duties while on the job Monday, according to a Sunday news release from the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU).

These duties include signing off for receivables, reviewing pallet sheets, disassembling pallets and identifying product distribution for shelf stocking or warehousing.

“Our members know that they deserve a fair and reasonable wage increase that keeps up with the high cost of living,” MGEU president Kyle Ross said in Sunday’s news release.

“Liquor workers have a starting wage of $14.91, while the minimum wage will increase to $15.30 per hour in October. Premier [Heather] Stefanson is sticking to her restrictive wage mandate, rather than direct MBLL to bargain a fair deal matching the annual 3.3 per cent, 3.6 per cent and 3.6 per cent raises she has given herself.”

The MBLL sent out its own news release on Sunday, stating that the two parties met with a conciliator earlier that day, where the union was allegedly asked to halt its work stoppage as these negotiations continue.

“The MGEU declined to suspend any strike actions,” a MBLL spokesperson wrote in an email.

As of today, union members of the MBLL have been on strike for seven days straight.

Talks over a new collective agreement broke down early last week over the Crown corporation’s latest offer to the MGEU, which consists of a yearly two per cent wage increase between 2022 and 2025, alongside an increase to starting wages and other pay scale adjustments.

The union is arguing that this offer does not keep pace with the rate of inflation and the rising cost of living.

While this strike action was only supposed to last a couple days, Tuesday to Thursday, MGEU decided to keep their workers on the picket line until the weekend after discovering that MBLL had hired replacement workers to run its liquor distribution centre in Winnipeg.

The MBLL has defended its decision to rely on non-unionized staff and contract workers, stating it’s the only way to “keep liquor flowing through the distribution centre and out to stores.”

“MBLL is working hard to maintain a minimum level of service while our distribution and retail operations are impacted by ongoing strike action taken by the MGEU,” a spokesperson told the Sun Friday via email.

“This action was not undertaken lightly, and we are aware that contract workers cannot replace our own employees and the level of excellence they deliver every day.”

The liquor workers represented by the MGEU, which amounts to around 90 people in Brandon and 1,400 people province-wide, have been without a new collective agreement since March 24, 2022.

» The Brandon Sun