LCBO Workers and supporters hold a strike rally at a picket line in front of an LCBO store in Toronto on July 6.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
A tentative agreement to end a strike and reopen hundreds of retail stores operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario that have been shut down for two weeks was thrown into doubt on Friday after a dispute over details around return-to-work measures.
The union representing LCBO workers accused the government of refusing to sign a back-to-work protocol allowing retail stores to reopen on Tuesday, while the government said the union added new last-minute demands.
On Friday evening, the LCBO released a statement announcing its plans to file an unfair labour practice complaint and accused the union of “bad-faith bargaining.” The union’s president said bargaining would continue and held out hope for a deal to end the strike.
The Crown corporation initially announced a tentative agreement early Friday afternoon with a statement that said the strike would end at 12:01 a.m. on Monday and that retail stores would open the next day. More than 660 LCBO stores have been closed since the strike began on July 5 and the labour dispute has also disrupted the supply chain for restaurants and bars.
Officials with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) were set to hold a news conference about the agreement on Friday at 3 p.m. But union spokesperson Katie Arnup instead told reporters that the employer had refused to sign a back-to-work protocol.
“We were prepared to come here to announce a deal,” she said. “We do not have a deal, the strike continues.”
The LCBO issued a statement shortly after that accusing the union of attempting to add new demands after a tentative agreement had already been reached.
“They have since introduced significant new monetary demands that should have been dealt with at the bargaining table,” the statement said.
A government source said the new demands amounted to millions of dollars. The Globe and Mail agreed not to name the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations.
OPSEU president JP Hornick, who uses the pronoun they, said they were surprised by the turn of events.
“I’m not actually sure what the issue is right now, these are not demands, this is a draft document that goes to the employer and the employer counters … this is not a sticking point,” Hornick said. “This normally doesn’t take that long.”
They said OPSEU’s core concern was that the employer and Premier were making promises without addressing the back-to-work protocol proposal – a document that details logistical measures around the return-to-work process and financials issues.
“I hope that this is a simple clarification – these folks just want to go back to work but there’s no information on how to do this safely,” Hornick said. “I’m trying to calm things down. ... I’m hoping saner heads will prevail.”
The LCBO released details of its offer Friday evening.
According to a summary released by the agency, the agreement includes an 8-per-cent pay hike over three years, up from 7 per cent in the original offer. It also says the LCBO will turn 1,000 casual employees into permanent part-time, and improve benefits and severance. The offer also includes base pay increases for the lowest-paid workers and a pledge not to close stores related to “marketplace expansion.”
The government source said the LCBO had sent the return-to-work protocol back to OPSEU without any of the monetary changes requested by the union.
The union’s key complaint during the strike was related to the government’s plan to expand the availability of ready-to-drink beverages, such as coolers, in grocery and convenience stores over the next several months. But the government source and another source close to the negotiations said the expansion plan was not affected by the deal. The Globe agreed not to name the second source because they also were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal before it is ratified.
In a statement earlier in the day, OPSEU said the deal will “protect jobs in every community” as well as “public revenues generated by LCBO sales,” but did not say how that would happen.
The union said details will not be shared until the deal is communicated to members, “but the union is confident this agreement addresses the needs of workers and is a win for all Ontarians.”
The sources said the strike did not affect the government’s plans for ready-to-drink beverages or impact the timelines of expanding the market. The government had announced a plan to allow groceries stores that already sell beer and wine to sell ready-to-drink beverages by Aug. 1, but moved up that timeline during the strike. Convenience stores will be able to sell alcohol, wine and ready-to-drink beverages in September and all grocery stores in Ontario will be allowed to sell such beverages by the end of October.
The LCBO statement did not forecast any uncertainty about the agreement.
“LCBO is now working to prepare our people and operations to return to business as usual,” the Crown corporation said in a statement, adding that details of the agreement would be shared once it is ratified. “We look forward to welcoming our unionized employees back to work in service of Ontarians.”
Negotiations between the two sides had, until earlier this week, been at a standstill since the start of the strike. The LCBO and OPSEU returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday.