Striking SAQ workers demand job security and insurance

About 5,000 union members of the Quebec Alcohol Society (SAQ) are striking on Wednesday in the hope of reaching an agreement with their employer after more than a year of negotiations.

Their union is demanding more full-time jobs and improved access to benefits for workers. The two days of strikes are the first of a 15-day strike mandate from union members.

Unless there is a breakthrough, the strike is expected to continue on Thursday.

Although no pickets are expected today, union representatives held a rally this morning at Place des Festivals in Montreal.

At the rally on Wednesday, union members repeated one of their key messages: They said about 70 percent of the state-owned company’s employees work part-time or on call.

“This means that every two weeks they don’t know if they will have enough time to pay for groceries,” said Caroline Senneville, the President of the Confederation of Trade Unions nationalx (CSN), a workers’ umbrella organisation that includes unions across the province, including SAQ workers.

Similar events are planned in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Rouyn-Noranda, Saguenay and Sainte-Thérèse.

Earlier this week, management said there would be a plan in place to partially maintain access to SAQ stores. In a statement released Wednesday, SAQ provided a full list of stores open today.

Because the SAQ is conducting a two-day annual planning meeting with executives and staff, “the number of branches open to customers will be lower than expected, so some regions may not be able to be served today,” the statement said.

Union members are also demanding faster access to the group insurance plan. Even if they work an average of 20 hours a week, workers currently have to wait up to seven years before they are eligible for insurance that does not cover vision or dental care, says Élise Lallement, general secretary of the union.

According to Lallement, it takes an average of 12 years for SAQ workers to get a full-time job with full benefits.

“We hope that the public will realize that our demands are neither cruel nor crazy,” said Lallement. “Many people are not aware that we in the SAQ live in such precarious conditions.”

The union and employers will meet again with an arbitrator on Monday.