The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and the union representing 10,000 of its workers reached a tentative agreement on Saturday, more than two weeks after the strike began.
Both the LCBO and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) signed a return-to-work protocol Saturday morning after a tentative deal was put on hold a day earlier. According to the union, a vote to ratify the deal will take place over the weekend.
“We look forward to welcoming our 10,000 union members back to work on Monday,” LCBO said.
OPSEU said Friday that the LCBO is refusing to sign a return-to-work protocol that would allow employees to return to work on Monday.
After a short press conference by the union, both parties returned to the negotiating table later that afternoon.
OPSEU called the interim settlement “a victory for Ontario workers and residents” in a press release Saturday.
“LCBO workers went on strike to protect good jobs and government revenues and to gain more permanent jobs with benefits and guaranteed hours,” the press release said.
“This preliminary deal does just that.”
The announcement comes after the LCBO announced Friday morning that it had reached a tentative agreement with OPSEU. However, the strike went ahead after the union said the employer refused to sign a return-to-work protocol.
Both sides accused each other of acting in bad faith. The LCBO claimed that the union had made new financial demands.
But the LCBO issued a statement on Saturday confirming that the strike that began on July 5 would end as previously announced.
It was said that the return to work protocol signed by both sides did not contain any new financial items.
“This is a good deal for the workers and the people of Ontario,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
New deal includes 8% wage increases: LCBO
According to the LCBO, the tentative agreement signed Friday includes eight percent wage increases over three years, an additional 7.8 percent for the lowest-paid workers and a special pay increase for certain warehouse trading positions.
In addition, it includes the conversion of approximately 1,000 on-call workers into permanent part-time employees, the hiring of 60 permanent full-time employees for warehouse activities and improved access to secondary employment conditions for on-call workers working 1,300 hours and 1,000 hours.
According to the Crown corporation, the program also includes enhanced mental health services and discharge policies.
The LCBO said the signed agreement provides for “no store closures related to marketplace expansion during the term of the collective agreement.” A non-binding joint union and management committee will decide how best to implement marketplace plans.
Management also agreed to provide letters of agreement to limit the number of LCBO outlets to 400, limit outsourcing and increase the volume of products in warehouses serving retail stores by 1.25 million cases.
“This preliminary deal protects good jobs in every community and the public revenue generated by the LCBO,” negotiating chair Colleen MacLeod said in a statement Saturday.
“Workers made it clear to Ontarians that Doug Ford’s alcohol-everywhere plan was a direct threat to jobs and government revenue. While this round of negotiations won’t be over until the deal is ratified, I’m incredibly proud of workers and the stand they took.”