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A majority of members of the union of store and office employees of the Société des alcools du Québec (SEMB-SAQ), affiliated with the CSN, voted to hold a 15-day strike to be exercised at the appropriate time, “whether consecutive or not.”
The announcement was made by the union on Saturday morning, specifying more than half of the 5,000 affected SAQ employees voted during a series of general meetings held throughout the week, throughout Quebec.
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“We have been asking customers since the fall to stock up on reserves so that on the first day of the strike, they do not cross our picket lines. The next day, we will come back all smiles to serve them,” union president Lisa Courtemanche told Presse Canadienne.
The SEMB-SAQ said negotiations have not progressed with the employer for a year.
Job insecurity and salaries have not even been addressed yet, according to the union. The creation of permanent positions and working hours are the main points in dispute, according to the union.
“Seventy per cent of SAQ employees are part-time workers who have no idea of their schedule two weeks in advance and who never know if they will have a full week of work,” Courtemanche said.
“Of the 70 per cent of my colleagues who are part-time, there are several who have worked the schedule of a regular employee every week for years and years. You can have this schedule for 10 years, but not have the (social) benefits of a regular job or any insurance coverage,” she said.
Other workers never know if they will have a full week of work, she said.
“We are trying to reduce precariousness. There is no company that can run its business with 70 per cent of its staff considered part-time. We no longer have anyone who wants to come and work at the SAQ. Our young colleagues are going elsewhere,” Courtemanche said.
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More training and increasing the number of wine advisers and branch co-ordinators are other demands.
In a statement sent by email, SAQ officials said “negotiations with the union are continuing with the same objective: reaching an agreement that is satisfactory for both the SAQ and its employees.”
The employer said it would try to ensure continuity of service.
“If a strike day is announced, we will invite our customers to consult saq.com or our mobile application to find out which branches will open their doors to customers, if applicable. This information will be updated as the situation evolves in order to effectively guide our customers.”
“Regarding the union’s assertions regarding the discussions at the negotiating table, we reserve our comments and we trust the teams at this same table,” SAQ officials wrote.
Noting the SAQ is a state corporation, Courtemanche sent a message to François Legault’s government.
“We were considered an essential service by the government during the pandemic in 2020, 2021 and 2022, since we were one of the only businesses open (…) We deserve all the requests we make. We provide unparalleled customer service and we bring in $1.5 billion in dividends to the government coffers,” she said.
As for negotiations on salaries, it seems the management of the SAQ is waiting for the “monetary envelope” from the Treasury Board to begin discussions, the union said.
The 5,000 SEMB-SAQ employees earn between $21 per hour and $26 at the top level, Courtemanche said.
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