LCBO workers ratify deal to end strike, stores to reopen Tuesday
The LCBO says stores will reopen Tuesday (July 23) after the union representing 10,000 of its workers ratified a new deal with the liquor retailer on Sunday to end the strike that had closed its stores for two weeks.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario confirmed the ratification in a news release Sunday, saying the strike will officially end at 12:01 a.m. on Monday and stores will be ready to serve customers the next day.
LCBO workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union voted in favour of the three-year collective agreement, OPSEU said in a press release Sunday.
“We went on strike to protect good jobs and public revenues, and to win more permanent jobs with benefits and guaranteed hours," said Colleen MacLeod, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team, in the press release. "Our members stood strong. They held strong lines, they talked to their communities—and they won."
The LCBO published details of the agreement on Friday, which includes an 8% wage increase over three years, the conversion of about 1,000 casual employees to permanent part-time positions and no store closures over the course of the agreement.
The ratification comes after the deal was up in the air on Friday, after both OPSEU and the LCBO announced a tentative agreement had been reached but the union said the strike would continue after the employer refused to sign a return-to-work protocol.
Both sides accused each other of bargaining in bad faith, with the employer saying it would file an unfair labour practice complaint.
The LCBO, however, issued a statement on Saturday saying both sides had signed off on the protocol and reopening plans were back underway.
"As we welcome back our valued employees, we are focused on returning to our normal operations in support of our retail and wholesale customers and of Ontario’s beverage alcohol industry," the LCBO said in a statement Sunday.
OPSEU has said the strike, which began on July 5 and was the first of its kind in the LCBO's history, was about protecting union jobs and provincial public revenue amid Premier Doug Ford's plan to allow convenience and grocery stores to sell ready-to-drink cocktails.
