LCBO stores in Ontario reopen after two-week strike

Hundreds of liquor stores in Ontario reopened Tuesday after a strike lasting more than two weeks, but fighting between the union representing the workers and the government dragged on.

About 10,000 employees of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario returned to work on Monday to prepare for the opening of nearly 700 stores after walking off the job on July 5.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents LCBO workers, said the labour dispute revolves primarily around Premier Doug Ford’s plan to allow convenience stores and grocery stores to sell ready-to-drink cocktails. The expansion of sales posed an existential threat to the workers’ future, it said.

The taunts continued on Tuesday as the union took exception to Ford’s comments on Monday in which he said the strike should never have happened.

The union said it had made “significant progress” immediately as a result of the strike.

“LCBO workers are proud of what they have accomplished with this contract. This would not have been possible without the strike,” said Colleen MacLeod, chair of the union’s collective bargaining unit. “They are also happy to be back to work and serving their communities.”

The three-year contract, which LCBO workers ratified over the weekend, calls for an 8 percent wage increase over three years, the conversion of about 1,000 casual workers to permanent part-time positions and no store closures during the term of the agreement.

The union said that converting these temporary jobs into 1,000 permanent part-time jobs and guaranteeing no plant closures during the term of the contract had not been discussed before the strike.

As part of the reopening, there will no longer be restrictions on online orders, the LCBO said. However, the delivery time for these orders could be up to three weeks.

In front of an LCBO in Toronto’s West End, Jay Brafman sharply criticized both striking parties.

“I think (the union) has basically held the citizens of Ontario hostage, and that’s not the right way to get more out of your job,” he said.

Brafman, a supporter of the government’s plans to expand alcohol sales to convenience stores, also criticized Ford.

“If he really wanted to show courage, he would have liquidated the LCBO,” he said.

Brafman, a vodka drinker, became upset during the strike because the LCBO is the largest liquor retailer in the province.

“It cost me a lot of money to have to go to bars if I wanted to drink,” he said, adding that he was glad the stores were open again.

Ford’s previous plan was to offer beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails in convenience stores and all grocery stores by 2026, fulfilling a 2018 campaign promise. But in May he announced that would happen this year instead, ending speculation about early elections, which Ford did not directly deny.

From September 5, convenience stores will be allowed to sell beer, wine and soft drinks, while newly licensed grocery stores will be able to do so from October 31.

An “early implementation agreement” with The Beer Store will see the province pay the company up to $225 million to keep its stores open and its employees employed. The province will also give the breweries a discount on their LCBO fee, which normally brings in $45 million a year, and give retailers a 10 per cent wholesale discount.