Nine months into the strike, negotiations between the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC) and its unionized employees, who are refusing to ” cheap labour » Crown corporations.
• Also read: The strike does not prevent SQDC from making a profit
• Also read: Potted beef jerky at SQDC
• Also read: SQDC union members urge Legault to intervene in negotiations
“We are at a complete impasse. The employer who has a blatant lack of good faith has lapsed into arrogance and contempt,” denounces David Clément, president of the local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Workers (CUPE).
The indefinite general strike affecting 24 of the 94 SQDC branches in Quebec, ie the majority of those unionized, has been ongoing since May 28, 2022.
But no meeting has been organized since the last employer offer, which was rejected by 94% last December, notably because of a salary considered insufficient.
“Since December 11th we have had an employer sitting on his laurels. The Treasury doesn’t want to negotiate in good faith, they want to enforce collective agreements out of fear,” Mr Clément said.
Photo provided by David Clément
The President of CUPE’s local union, which represents employees from 26 SQDC branches, David Clément.
An insult ”
All SQDC consultants, except those represented by CUPE, have a starting salary of $19.01/hr as of July 3, 2022, according to Crown Corporation. An amount that will increase to $19.39/hr in the next few months.
The offer to CUPE members was similar, with a lump sum of $0.13/hour for 12 months, says the union, which is ready to strike “as long as it lasts”.
“We took that as an insult, it is not true that we will be the cheap labor of state-owned companies. There isn’t one where employees are making less than $20.50/hr when they are hired,” says Mr. Clément.
The SQDC leadership declined to comment on the course of the ongoing negotiations.
“We remain in contact with the Labor Department’s arbitrator and remain available to continue talks,” said Fanny Beaudoin, a spokeswoman for Crown Corporation.
Back to the black market?
For the most recent quarter ended December 31, 2022, SQDC posted income of $32.2 million, an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year.
However, “only” 31,274 kg of cannabis was sold during the quarter, compared to 31,998 kg (-2.26%) between October and December 2021.
“It shows that they made more money by raising prices. What we see is that since June there has been a migration from the legal market to the black market,” said the president of the CUPE local.
“The government has made a net gain of $32 million in three cases. All we need at the negotiating table is $1 million a year,” he adds.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?
Write to us or call us directly at 1-800-63SCOOP.