MGEU president calls closure of additional liquor stores by MBLL ‘heavy handed’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/08/2023 (815 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The union representing striking liquor workers is criticizing Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries for closing an additional four liquor stores amid a wage dispute.

In a media release issued Saturday, the Crown corporation said the stores — located in Bunns Creek, Charleswood, True North Square and Tyndall Market — will remain closed indefinitely.

“It has become clear that MBLL is more intent on winning a fight, than doing what’s right,” Manitoba Government Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross said in a statement after the news broke.

Seven other locations closed Friday, and an additional seven closed earlier this week. In Winnipeg, 15 out of 20 liquor stores are impacted, the union said.

The Crown corporation said the closures are to “ensure we can effectively manage inventory allocation and distribution to the remaining open locations.”

The union is seeking a 3.3 percent wage increase for 1,400 workers who have been on strike since mid-July.

Ross blasted the closures, calling them “heavy handed” and a means to “punish” workers who are “standing up for themselves.”

The union leader argued the current starting wage of $14.91 per hour for liquor workers is insufficient to compensate for rising inflation rates, adding minimum wage is set to increase to $15.30 per hour come October.

“We’re asking for a fair deal,” he said. “The corporation can afford fair and reasonable increases for its workers.”

—Staff