Members of the union representing SAQ workers will hold another strike on Thursday.
Almost 5,500 workers are expected to travel to Quebec City for a march on that day. A spokesperson for the union said that while progress has been made on negotiations in recent days, a stalemate persists on the issue of pay.
“Our members are parts of 5,500 families that refuse to be impoverished,” said SEMB-SAQ President Katia Lelievre. “In negotiations, we have an agreement on all normative aspects and a satisfactory agreement for both parties. We agreed to move on topics that were important to the SAQ. But it’s been clear from the beginning that, for us, an agreement would have to protect our purchasing power. The SAQ must review its salary offers.”
The FEESP-CSN, which is affiliated with the SEMB-SAQ, has asked for an emergency meeting with Finance Minister Eric Girard, but no date for such a meeting has been set.
The members of the SEMB-SAQ have been without a collective agreement since March 31, 2017. Thursday’s strike day will be the tenth since the beginning of the labour conflict and the union has a mandate to use up to another 14 strike days during negotiations.
