(Montreal) Negotiations are at a standstill between the Quebec Cannabis Society and CUPE, which represents the largest number of branch workers in Quebec and many of whom are affected by an indefinite strike.
Updated yesterday at 3:57 p.m.
If the unions attached to the CSN have accepted a settlement, it is different for those of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) affiliated with the FTQ.
Twenty-two branches where CUPE represents workers at the Société québécoise du cannabis have been affected by an indefinite strike since May 20; others have a job action mandate, but not a strike. CUPE represents workers in 27 branches now.
In an interview on Wednesday, CUPE local president David Clement said he offered a “settlement offer” in conciliation last week and has since been waiting for a response from management. But “it’s radio silence”, according to him.
The dispute relates particularly to wages.
He maintains that the current starting salary at the SQDC is $17.12, which he considers insufficient for a Crown corporation. He says the employer’s latest offer would bring that salary up to $17.46. And its members have no intention of accepting a starting wage of less than $20 an hour, he reports.
And its members are not ready to accept what the members of the CSN have accepted, he reports. At the end of June, the latter ratified the agreement in principle which had been reached with the SQDC, but the CSN did not want to reveal the percentage of support. It has members in about fifteen branches.
“The SQDC did not make us that offer; the SQDC presented to us the agreement it had with the CSN on the salary side. Indeed, for our bargaining committee, our executive council, it is not an agreement or an offer that would be interesting, because it would keep us, after all, for the next four years, with salaries that are derisory for a company of State and for the job we do, ”explained Mr. Clément.
“We even challenged the employer to submit a hostile offer that we would have to present to our members. We necessarily have a democratic structure, we consult our authorities. And it was not jokes, it was not theater when our general meetings told us that we would not accept any entry salary below 20 piastres per hour in 2022, ”launched Mr. Clement.
On the side of the management of the SQDC, we preferred to remain discreet about the content of the negotiations with CUPE. “Out of respect for the process that is following its course with the mediator appointed by the Ministry of Labour, we will not negotiate in the public square and will maintain the confidential nature of the discussions at the table provided for this purpose,” she said. to know.
Management remains optimistic: “our objective is still to reach a negotiated agreement to the satisfaction of the parties concerned”.
Closures and opening hours
Management confirms that certain branches that are currently operated by executives, because of the strike, will be temporarily affected by closures, during the holidays of these executives.
“Since our mission is to migrate consumers to the legal cannabis market and keep them there, we want to continue operations in the branches affected by the strike as much as possible. During this period, the 22 branches concerned (by the strike) will have modified hours, in order to give some respite to the managers who provide service to customers. For these points of sale, the schedule is from noon to 5 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday. They will be closed on Sundays and Mondays. »
“Always with the aim of allowing managers a rest period, the following points of sale will soon be closed,” said management: Les Saules in Quebec, closed from July 3 to 18 inclusively; Drummondville, closed from July 3 to 11 inclusively; Métro Snowdon in Montreal, closed from July 3 to 11 inclusively; and President-Kennedy in Lévis, closed for an indefinite period.
The 67 other branches in the network remain open according to normal hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the SQDC said.