Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to media at a press conference at the Cool Beer Brewing Company in Toronto on July 10.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the strike at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario should never have happened and blamed the public-sector union representing workers for almost thwarting the deal at the last-minute.
Mr. Ford, speaking to reporters about the two-week strike that officially ended Monday, said the closing of more than 660 retail LCBO stores only proved that people were able to get alcohol elsewhere in the province.
LCBO stores are set to reopen Tuesday, but the public could still buy wine, beer and cider at select grocery stores and private retailers throughout the strike. Still, Mr. Ford said he believes there continues to be a place for LCBO retail stores in the market.
“I knew this, but it just confirmed it: Mess with anyone, but don’t mess around with people’s booze in Ontario, because they aren’t too happy,” Mr. Ford told reporters at an unrelated announcement in Kitchener, Ont.
“This strike should have never, ever happened. We could have easily sat around the table.”
Representatives with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, however, said the strike couldn’t have been avoided, and accused the government of trying to privatize the Crown corporation by stealth.
“We came to the table to try to stop this from happening,” said Colleen MacLeod, the OPSEU bargaining team chair, in an interview. “We won the battle, but we have not won the war.”
LCBO union demands guarantee no one will lose job in Ontario alcohol expansion plan
The strike began on July 5 when about 9,000 LCBO workers, represented by OPSEU, walked off the job. At the heart of the dispute was the provincial government’s plan to expand alcohol sales to allow convenience stores and all grocery stores to sell beer, wine and, especially, ready-to-drink cocktails, which are growing in popularity.
The government didn’t budge on the plan to allow ready-to-drink cocktails, such as coolers, to be sold in corner stores, but offered to increase the number of permanent workers, boost pay and keep retail stores open throughout the course of modernization.
The union and LCBO announced a tentative deal on Friday – but later in the day, OPSEU cast doubt on the agreement over a dispute with the back-to-work protocol.
The LCBO accused the union of “bad-faith bargaining” and said it planned to file an unfair labour practice complaint because it said the union introduced new monetary demands after the tentative agreement was signed.
The return-to-work protocol was eventually signed without any additional compensation. Union members ratified the three-year deal over the weekend.
Mr. Ford on Monday said the union leadership tried to rescind the deal because it wanted workers to be paid for the two weeks they were on strike.
“I said, the people would lose their minds. Imagine if I was taking your tax dollars for paying people that weren’t working? It’s absolutely crazy,” Mr. Ford said.
“The leadership came to their senses. We got the deal signed, people are back to work. Everyone’s going to have a great summer.”
Mr. Ford also said he doesn’t believe in closing LCBO retail stores, even as his government expands alcohol availability at grocery and corner stores.
Ms. MacLeod, with OPSEU, confirmed that the union was seeking additional pay for its workers while on strike but said she expected a negotiation about it, not a dispute.
“I was shocked at the blowback,” Ms. MacLeod said. “They had a temper tantrum.”
She said the union abandoned the idea because it didn’t want to scuttle the deal. “Of course we tried, but that wasn’t a major sticking point for us,” she said.
Ms. MacLeod said the strike centred around keeping the LCBO revenue public and job security.
Patrick Groom, a partner in employment and labour relations at business law firm McMillan LLP, said it’s not unusual for a union to take every opportunity to resolve the back wages issue. But asking for them after a deal is agreed to is considered “poor form.”
“It should have been something they brought up up-front if they were being completely transparent and honest with both the government and its members,” Mr. Groom said.
But he added that asking for back wages after a strike is important for a union.
“The union needs to be perceived by the members as fighting for them in all respects, and that includes making up for lost wages,” he said.
Mr. Groom said the LCBO would likely have had a case for bad faith bargaining had the matter progressed. But he said any damage to the relationship between the union and employer “is often just temporary.”
The three-year deal between the LCBO and the union promises to convert roughly 1,000 casual workers to permanent part-time status and includes better access to health benefits and improved severance packages.
It also includes an 8-per-cent wage increase over three years – up from 7 per cent in the original offer on July 4.