Employees of the Society Cubacois du Cannabis, affiliated with the (Montreal) Confederation of National Trade Unions (SQDC-CSN), went on strike on Saturday in 13 branches.
Updated yesterday at 2:20 p.m.
“Currently, only the Saint-Phoebe branch is closed due to a surprise strike,” SQDC confirmed via email, adding that service in other branches was “provided by managers”.
The strike was the third day of a five-day bank election in which union members voted on June 5. This was triggered by the weekend of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, usually when the shops were very busy.
“We have a ridiculous salary offer on the table, even insulting, so we are clearly asking for equality with SAQ (Society des Alcoles du Quebec),” union president Maxim Nado argued in a telephone interview.
He said, “It will take us eight years to reach our hourly rate of $ 17.12 and 12 per hour at the time of admissionE Step, which is set at $ 21.23 per hour. That is why we always claim equality with those who work with us, ”the employees of the Society des Alcoles du Quebec explained in a press release.
By comparison, according to the 2021 collective agreement, the starting salary at SAQ is $ 22.59.
Although the hourly rate remained an obstacle in the discussions, questions about “schedules and team leaders” remained unresolved, according to Mr Nadou.
“Normally, the recruitment is going very well, but SQDC is not keeping its people, he said. Suddenly they came back, they were quickly disappointed when they saw the working conditions.”
He called on the SQDC and the Treasury Board to accept the union’s demands as talks resume on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If not, “We still have a lot of surprises, we still have a lot of ideas to disrupt SQDC’s operations if we have to go that far, but we hope that does not happen.
He quoted Premier Franకోois Legalt as saying on June 12 that companies with “shortages of more than $ 15 or $ 20” [l’heure] Get in trouble ”.
For its part, the employer “fully recognizes the right of employees to implement pressure tactics in the context of negotiations. The Company is available to continue negotiations and our desire is to reach a negotiated agreement to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. ⁇
SQDC-CSN represents approximately 200 employees spread across 16 branches.
Union members of the CUPE affiliated with the FTQ are already on strike. They were out of work for a few hours in April, before the indefinite strike began on May 20. CUPE represents 300 union members in 26 branches. However, 22 of these 26 were affected by his walkout. Of these, operators also ensure the continuation of services, although there are fewer opening hours.
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