Several Liquor Marts closed in Manitoba Tuesday as strike continues

Seven of Manitoba’s Crown-owned liquor stores were closed Tuesday as unionized workers continue their strike.

The six Liquor Marts in Winnipeg and one in Brandon will reopen Wednesday morning.

“This decision was not taken lightly,” a Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) spokesperson said in a news release. “This allows MBLL to better activate contingency plans and preserve some level of retail service to our public and commercial customers as the long weekend approaches.”

The affected Liquor Marts are Crestview, Eastwinds, Garden City, Grant Park, Hargrave and Ellice, St. Vital Square and Brandon South.

“We do expect the MGEU (Manitoba Government and General Employees Union) will continue with its disruptive tactic of providing late, day-by-day notice of strike actions affecting different employees, different locations, and different duties so we still are unsure which locations will in fact be open (Tuesday),” said the MBLL spokesperson.

Workers have been on strike since July 19. They are protesting contract negotiations and have been without a collective agreement for more than a year.

A contract offer presented to the MGEU last month was for four years with two per cent wage hikes each year.

The MGEU is asking Premier Heather Stefanson and other provincial officials to step in.

“Please stop ignoring us,” the MGEU wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “Respect workers enough to lift your wage mandate restrictions. We know you could end this situation quickly with one phone call or with the stroke of a pen. Don’t make MBLL or their employees look like the bad guy.”

—With files from The Canadian Press