SAQ employees approve new 18-day strike mandate
18 strike days will be taken 'when we deem it necessary,' union says, as labour negotiations continue
Retail and office employees at Quebec's liquor board have approved a new, 18-day strike mandate, as contract negotiations continue.
The unionized Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) workers, affiliated with the CSN labour federation, voted 96 per cent in favour of the second strike mandate on Friday after a general meeting in Montreal.
The 18 days will be added to a previous, six-day strike mandate that was approved in June.
A bargaining blitz that began on Sept. 17 has not yet produced an agreement, said union president Katia Lelièvre in a statement.
The 18 strike days, she said, will be held "when we deem it necessary to put pressure" on their employer.
Fifth strike day held Friday
The SAQ's 5,500 unionized workers held their fifth, nonconsecutive strike day on Friday.
At the heart of the conflict is a requirement to work weekend shifts — the busiest time at the SAQ.
The intermittent strike days have included marches and demonstrations in Quebec City and Montreal.
Strike days have resulted in the closure of most SAQ stores across the province, while some branches have been kept open by management, sometimes with limited hours.
On strike days, the SAQ has been posting which stores are open and their operating hours.
On its website, the workers union called the new strike mandate a "beautiful demonstration of solidarity and mobilization" that sends a "clear message" to the SAQ.
It's a sign that workers are "willing to go further in their means of pressure to reach a just agreement," it said.
Their collective agreement expired on March 31, 2017.