LCBO workers and supporters picket on the line in front of the LCBO main store in Toronto, on July 5.Christopher Katsarov /The Globe and Mail
The president of the public service union representing striking workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is demanding assurances from the provincial government that the plan to expand alcohol sales into corner stores won’t result in job losses for its members.
JP Hornick said Tuesday that bargaining talks between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the LCBO remain at a standstill until the government guarantees job protection for workers or produces a plan to make up for what the union said would be hundreds of millions in lost revenue as alcohol sales expand into the private market.
“We need to see contract language that would protect the jobs that exist and make them into permanent jobs,” Hornick said at a rally in front of the LCBO’s flagship store in Toronto.
Responding to a July 4 offer from the LCBO that included increased pay, job security and other provisions, Hornick said, “Those are only meaningful if you’re not shutting down jobs – there’s nothing in there that actually guarantees a single job.”
The decision to expand alcohol sales – particularly ready-to-drink, spirit-based beverages such as coolers – is at the heart of the dispute between the government and the union representing more than 9,000 workers.
The union is urging the government to drop the expansion of pre-mixed beverages into the private market, saying the growing popularity of such drinks threatens their livelihood as a retail operation and puts $2.5-billion in revenue at risk.
The government’s plans, announced in May, to speed up the sale of beer in corner stores by 16 months are expected to cost more than its announced $225-million price tag – but the final tally is yet unknown.
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, said in an interview this week, the government will not back down on the expansion and there will still be a place for the LCBO in the marketplace. In a letter sent to LCBO chair Carmine Nigro on Tuesday, Mr. Bethlenfalvy directed the Crown corporation to increase the promotion of local beer, wine, spirit and cider products as the expansion begins later this summer.
“Again, while some take a more short-sighted view that opposes change, as a best-in-class wholesaler and retailer of alcohol, LCBO will continue to make meaningful financial contributions to provincial coffers,” Mr. Bethlenfalvy wrote.
He said LCBO revenue and the dividends paid to the government have continued to grow even as successive governments expanded alcohol sales to new retail stores and allowed bars and restaurants to sell alcohol with takeout and delivery.
Hornick called the letter “awfully short on details and awfully long on weasel words.”
“There is nothing in there that actually guarantees a single job or what the future of the LCBO looks like,” they told reporters.
Hornick appeared at a press conference alongside Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie and Toronto-area Liberal MPP Adil Shamji, who criticized Doug Ford for launching an interactive map this week showing where customers can purchase alcohol during the strike.
“We need a map so that 2.3 million Ontarian families … can find access to a family doctor,” Ms. Crombie said, who urged Mr. Ford to get “back from the cottage” and return to Queen’s Park, which is on an extended break until October.
The LCBO plans to close stores for two weeks until July 19, with online ordering being offered and then 32 locations are to open with limited hours. The strike does not affect LCBO convenience outlets in smaller communities, and sales will also continue at grocery stores, private winery, brewery and distillery outlets, as well as bars, restaurants and The Beer Store.
The corporation had planned to open five locations for businesses to shop in-store on July 10 but changed course Monday after the union threatened to picket them; instead, the LCBO plans to offer online shopping for smaller wholesale orders.
Hornick said Tuesday it’s not too late for the government to backtrack on its plan to allow pre-mixed drinks in convenience stores. Until then, the strike continues.
“The end is when they come back to the table ready to negotiate in good faith, and ready to negotiate an agreement that protects good jobs and finds a pathway jointly towards the modernization of alcohol sales that includes the LCBO in a meaningful way. That’s not what they’re doing right now,” they said.