SAQs across Quebec closed Wednesday as labour dispute drags on

Several of Quebec's government-run liquor stores will be closed Wednesday as the employee union's strike continues into its second, nonconsecutive day.

SAQ branches in Quebec City and elsewhere in the province will be closed. The SAQ has posted a warning to its website, asking customers to check the site for a list of open stores.

The Conseil central de Québec–Chaudière-Appalaches (CSN) said there will be no picket lines this time, though a regional event is slated for Quebec City.

Some 600 union members from 63 branches are expected to gather in front of Quebec City's Musée national des beaux-arts by 11 a.m., with a march to the National Assembly planned for noon.

In a statement issued by the Syndicat des employé(e)s de magasins et de bureaux de la SAQ (SEMB-SAQ) Wednesday morning, the union states there will be various meeting points for employees to assemble.

Employees will then be transported by bus to one or more locations, as there are activities planned for different regions, the union states, calling today's strike "the most important of our current conflict."

The union says Wednesday's pressure tactic is aimed at the government rather than the employer.

The union is calling on the government to give the SAQ's management the mandate to settle negotiations with employees.

Back in June, after some 16 months of negotiation, union members voted 91 per cent in favour of a six-day strike mandate. 

The SEMB-SAQ represents 5,500 workers across the province. The strike's slogan is "5,500 at the table."

The strike was not planned to be consecutive. Employees walked off the job at all of Quebec's 404 stores on July 17 for the first day of strikes, but 60 stores were kept open by management.

With files from Radio-Canada