Agropur strike at Saint-Laurent factory: Customers turn up their noses at empty milk fridges

“Out of Stock – Natrel Milk Product”. Consumers have thumbed their noses at empty milk fridges in recent days after a strike by 250 workers at the Saint-Laurent plant in Montreal called by the Agropur union last Monday.

“Certain formats or products will not be available on the shelves during the strike,” it confirmed Newspaper Mylene Dupere, vice president of communications at Agropur, said on Friday.

In recent hours, News magazine Many supermarkets, including Metro in Paschapat, have noticed that fridges are often empty.

Supermarkets in Blainville also advised that “products may be in limited quantities or out of stock.”

Photo by Matthew Boulay

“It’s a big headache”

At the Grocery Retailers Association (ADA), many members have taken up concerns in recent days as the holiday season approaches.

“It’s a big headache for retailers at Christmas. It creates uncertainty,” he shared Newspaper His representative was Samuel Bouchard.

To avoid a milk shortage, Agropur said it has a “contingency plan” to process milk at its other factories. The dairy giant also said it was “prioritizing” its products.

“We will take all necessary measures to provide the best possible service to our customers in this situation,” assured Myleene Dupere, but declined to quantify quantities for competitive reasons.

Current management ensures that milk leaves silos and is diverted to other factories in the group to avoid wastage. The collective agreement for employees at the Saint-Laurent plant in Agropur expired in September.