MONTREAL -- The union of striking SAQ employees is announcing a truce and suspending the strike until Monday, Nov. 29 at 5 a.m.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) made the announcement Tuesday evening in a news release.
The union and Liquor Corporation management were in negotiations Tuesday as the walkout by the 800 warehouse workers was in its second consecutive day.
"We don't want to hold SAQ customers hostage and since we are finally seeing some progress at the bargaining table, we agree to suspend the strike for a few days to give the talks a last chance," said CUPE union advisor Michel Gratton in the release. "The employees will therefore be back at work tomorrow, Wednesday morning. The union negotiating committee will put all its energy at the bargaining table to reach an agreement before Monday."
SAQ management has also committed to providing all the addresses where the SAQ stores its bottles in order to reassure the union side of the threat to use replacement workers or scabs.
Nothing came out of the negotiation meeting on Tuesday. Neither SAQ management nor the local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, affiliated with the QFL, would reveal the content of the talks.
Some 800 workers have been on strike since 5 a.m. Monday. They are assigned to the SAQ warehouses, as well as to the supply of SAQ branches, among others.
In addition to these two days of walkout, the union had held a one-day isolated strike on Nov. 16.
CUPE expected to receive a substantial offer from SAQ management on Tuesday. It said on Sunday that it would then see if it was appropriate to interrupt its walkout.
As for the SAQ, it reported that the strike was already having a significant impact on supplies and deliveries.
Among the issues in dispute are wages, overtime and occupational health and safety.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 23, 2021.
