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Manitoba Liquor Mart workers to walk out for 1 day next week over stalled contract negotiations

Workers at Manitoba Liquor Marts across the province will walk off the job next week as contract negotiations with Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries have stalled, union leaders say.

Workers will refuse all overtime following 1-day walkout: Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union

CBC News ·
A sign outside a Manitoba Liquor Mart is seen.
As many as 1,400 Manitoba Liquor Mart employees will walk out on Wednesday, following a contract offer their union says wasn't 'fair or realistic.' (Angela Johnston/CBC)

Workers at Manitoba Liquor Marts across the province will walk off the job for a day next week as contract negotiations with Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries have stalled, union leaders say.

Effective 7 a.m. on Wednesday, as many as 1,400 Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union members at the publicly run liquor stores will take strike action.

The action will include union members who work in the liquor distribution centre and those in supporting business operations like information technology, purchasing and administration, the union said in a news release on Friday.

Union members voted to start their strike action with a walkout after the employer, a Crown corporation, came back with a final offer that wasn't "fair or realistic," MGEU president Kyle Ross said at a Friday news conference.

"Our goal is not to punish Manitobans for the situation they've been put in by the management and leadership at [Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries] and the provincial government," he said.

"We will find ways to to increase the pressure and do what we have to to get a fair deal. It's really unfortunate that we're put in this situation."'

A man with brown hair in a grey suit jacket wears a blue shirt that's partly obscured but says, "Catch Up, Step Up." He's seen at a podium behind a microphone and surrounded by three other people.
MGEU president Kyle Ross says the wages offered Liquor Mart employees in the latest round of negotiations don't adequately account for cost of living increases. (CBC)

A big sticking point is wages, Ross said.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries offered a four-year contract with a two per cent wage increase in each year, with additional bumps to ensure those at the bottom end of the pay scale get legislated minimum wage increases.

Those increases don't go far enough, said Ross.

"That's not even close to what's needed, with the soaring cost of living and to catch up with the ground lost on our last contract," he said, referring to a collective agreement that expired in 2022.

"It certainly won't help retain workers who are leaving for better pay at places like Walmart and Sobeys."

After the one-day walkout, workers will refuse all overtime, and further strike actions will be announced if a deal cannot be reached, Ross said.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries has contingency plans in place for Wednesday's walkout, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation in an email Friday afternoon.

The spokesperson also said Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is committed to returning to the table and negotiating with the union.

A government spokesperson said in an email Friday the province is urging both sides to remain at the bargaining table.

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