(Montreal) The union which represents some 800 employees of the warehouses of the Société des alcools as well as those assigned to supply the branches will call an indefinite strike Monday morning at 5 a.m.
Although the strike is declared indefinite, a negotiation meeting is scheduled with the management of the SAQ on Tuesday. And, if the union gets the commitment it wants from management, it could end its strike from then on, said in an interview on Sunday, Michel Gratton, union advisor at the Canadian Union of Public Employees, affiliated at the FTQ.
The union adviser explained that he had resigned himself to going on strike, following a decision by the management of the SAQ to seek to do business with other warehouses with manpower, in order to mitigate the repercussions of union members’ pressure tactics.
The CUPE local had walked off the job for just one day so far, Nov. 16. But the walkout had the effect of severing the supply chain to the branches.
The union has therefore decided to call a strike, which will have the consequence of prohibiting such a practice by the employer, since it would then involve recourse to replacement workers during a strike.