Unionized employees with Quebec's liquor stores walked off the job Friday and will remain on strike until Monday.

The union says striking employees will picket in front of the 45 SAQ stores being kept open by management. The province's liquor monopoly plans to continue filling Internet orders.

The 5,500 unionized workers in roughly 400 retail outlets have slowly escalated their pressure tactics as contract talks lagged.

In addition to six surprise strike days during the summer, store windows have been plastered with union stickers. In some stores, employees turned bottles around so products could not be easily identified and price tags on shelves were flipped upside down.

In September, workers voted 96 per cent in favour of creating a new bank of 18 strike days for use at the union's discretion. Their contract expired on Mar. 31, 2017.

Union president Katia Lelievre said this week her negotiating team remains open to continuing contract talks and criticized management for not doing the same.

She said her members will not accept salary increases lower than the rate of inflation, which remains the main stumbling block.

"For the union, this is one of the only obstacles that still preclude the conclusion of an agreement, as significant progress has been made in other areas of the collective agreement," the union says in a statement today.

Earlier, weekend work hours and conditions of part-time employees -- who make up about 70 per cent of staff -- were sticking points. A management spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.


Here are the SAQ locations that remain open in the Greater Montreal area: 

  • Carrefour Angrignon
    2500 Angrignon Blvd.
    LaSalle
     
  • Ateliers Angus
    4125 André-Laurendeau St.
    Montreal
     
  • Atwater Market
    155 Atwater Ave.
    Montreal
     
  • Marché Central | SAQ Dépôt
    1001 Marché Central St., local A1
    Montreal
     
  • Mont-Royal-Est/Papineau
    1690 Mont-Royal Ave. Est
    Montreal
     
  • Sherbrooke East/Highway 25
    7550 Sherbrooke St. Est
    Montreal
     
  • Ste-Catherine West/Stanley
    1176 Sainte-Catherine St. Ouest
    Montreal
     
  • Sainte-Catherine West/Lambert Closse
    2204 Sainte-Catherine St. Ouest
    Montreal
     
  • Pierrefonds - St-Jean Blvd.
    4777 Saint-Jean Blvd.
    Pierrefonds
     
  • Vaudreuil-Soulanges | SAQ Dépôt
    22600 Dumberry Rd.
    Vaudreuil