(Toronto) Workers returned to work Monday at Ontario’s largest alcohol retailer, but the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) said stores would not reopen until Tuesday.
The union representing 10,000 workers announced Sunday that its members had ratified a new agreement with the alcohol retailer to end a strike that closed its stores for two weeks.
The ratification came as the deal appeared to be on hold on Friday.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the LCBO announced a tentative agreement had been reached, but the union said the strike would continue after the employer refused to sign a return-to-work protocol.
The retailer said the union had made new monetary demands and the employer would file an unfair labor practice complaint.
But the LCBO issued a statement Saturday saying reopening plans were back underway and that a return-to-work protocol signed by both parties did not include any “new monetary elements.”
OPSEU says Premier Doug Ford’s plan to expand alcohol sales to convenience and grocery stores will threaten union jobs and the public revenue the LCBO provides to the province.
Mr. Ford has accelerated those plans since the strike began on July 5, allowing grocery stores already licensed to sell beer and wine to also offer ready-to-drink cocktails starting Thursday.