Nearly all Liquor Marts closed this weekend
Posted August 12, 2023 1:56 pm.
All but two Manitoba Liquor Mart locations are closed this weekend.
Online operation hours show closures in all locations across the province Saturday and Sunday, except Crestview on Portage Avenue and St. Vital Square on Dakota Street.
The president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU), which represents roughly 1,400 workers, says workers aren’t letting up.
“We’re going to keep fighting until we get a fair deal. Something fair and equitable,” said Kyle Ross.
Limited operation hours remain for a handful of stores on weekdays. All rural Manitoba locations will be closed except for Thompson, which is open for four days a week.
Manitoba Liquor Mart workers went on a provincewide strike Tuesday after a series of staff lockouts and the closures of 34 stores over the August long weekend. They are asking for higher wages to keep up with inflation and have been without a contract since its expiry last March.
The offer MBLL presented to the MGEU last month was a two per cent per year increase for four years.
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The MGEU president says the union wants an increase that matches that of Premier Heather Stefanson and her cabinet.
“We know what fair is. Our members know what fair is,” said Ross. “They’ve directed us, they’ve told us what they want and we’re going to continue to work to get a fair deal. We know Heather Stefanson took 3.3 per cent. She deems that fair. She had no problem taking it. I don’t get why our members can’t get the same respect.”
Ross says it’s been challenging as they continue to try to work with the employer and conciliator to get a deal. The MGEU would like to see the premier step in.
“We haven’t had any moving at the table from the other side and we just need Heather Stefanson to release this mandate,” said Ross. “She put this mandate across the whole public sector and it’s really an unfair mandate and our members are fighting for fairness, so we really need that mandate released do we can actually negotiate a fair deal.”
WATCH: Liquor Mart employees on strike across Manitoba
He says the situation is unpredictable but hopes a resolution is reached soon.
“I know these workers and their families would like them to get back to work, it’s really stressful for them and I know Manitobans will want us to get back to work.”
On Friday afternoon, a long line-up of customers waiting to make purchases could be seen at one of the currently open locations.
