The approximately 5,500 branch and office employees of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) will decide on Friday whether to issue a 15-day strike mandate.
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If these members decide on a strike mandate to be used if necessary, the union (SEMB-SAQ-CSN) hopes to “increase the pressure” for the renewal of the collective agreement.
“While negotiations with SAQ management have been ongoing for more than a year, the parties are still far from reaching an agreement,” the union complained in a press release.
One of the main demands from workers is to reduce the proportion of part-time employees at the SAQ, which the union says is “close to 70%”.
“Part-time workers have no idea of their schedule two weeks in advance; They also don't know if they will have full work weeks. “Many need a second job to cover their living costs,” said union president Lisa Courtemanche.
The union also wants to tackle the system of working time distribution, which employees find to be “far too rigid”.