Two days of strike for 5,000 SAQ employees

Some 5,000 union members of the Société des alcools du Québec began a two-day strike on Wednesday to increase pressure on the employer as part of negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement.

These members of the SAQ Store and Office Employees Union also demonstrated in several cities in Quebec.

At a press briefing in downtown Montreal on Wednesday, the president of the CSN, Caroline Senneville, stressed that job insecurity was the main point in dispute, for the moment, since 70% of union members in stores have a precarious status.

The salary issue has not yet been brought up at the negotiating table. The parties have also been in conciliation since the fall.

Having a precarious status “means that for periods of two weeks in two weeks, we don’t know if we’re going to have enough hours to pay for groceries; This means that if we work, we don’t know our schedule. It also means that as long as we are precarious, we do not have group insurance. And that, precarious, we can be for five, seven, ten years, ”said M^me Senneville.

“There are enough hours to consolidate and do interesting positions,” concluded M.^me Senneville.

SAQ management reports that discussions are going well. “We remain prepared to negotiate with their representatives at any time. A next day of negotiations is also planned for Monday April 29. Until this week, the climate at the negotiating table was good,” she said in a press release.

“We consider that we have made significant progress since the start of the negotiations, on both sides. Our intention has been unchanged since the start of these negotiations: to reach a satisfactory agreement, both for the SAQ and for our employees,” commented management.

The president of the union, Lisa Courtemanche, confirms that discussions were going well with the management of the SAQ “until we were faced with categorical no’s”.

Although the salary issue has not yet been addressed, Mr.^me Courtemanche indicated that the union, at the start of negotiations, asked for an 18% increase over three years, in addition to the Consumer Price Index.

Under this collective agreement, the salary of a cashier-seller since 1^er April 2022 is $21.50 per hour at the first level and $28.15 per hour at the sixth and final level.

Another of the union demands is to increase the number of wine advisors.

SAQ management informs customers that they will have “limited access” to the network during these two days.

“Given that the union planned these strike days while the SAQ is holding its two annual planning days with its managers and employees, the number of branches open to customers will be lower than we had anticipated in our initial plan business continuity. Unfortunately, some regions may have little or no service today,” she said.