Manitoba Liquor Mart employees on full provincewide strike
Posted August 8, 2023 2:15 pm.
Last Updated August 8, 2023 7:43 pm.
Manitoba Liquor Mart employees began a full provincewide strike Tuesday morning.
It comes after the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation said it was closing 10 more Liquor Mart stores “until further notice.”
“MBLL must reduce the number of Liquor Marts open for business to ensure we can effectively manage allocating limited inventory to the remaining open locations,” the Crown-owned liquor stores said in a news release Monday.
Only seven of the 63 locations across the province are remaining open with reduced hours. The strike does not affect private operators such as beer vendors, specialty wine stores and many rural liquor outlets.
The union representing the roughly 1,400 workers, the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU), said a provincewide strike was necessary.
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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. Workers want salaries to keep up with the cost of living.
The MGEU has repeatedly asked Premier Heather Stefanson and other provincial officials to step in.
