Quebec liquor store employees walk off the job as two-day strike begins

By The Canadian Press on April 24, 2024.

Striking SAQ, Quebec's liquor board, employees, take part in a rally Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Montreal. Some 5,000 Quebec liquor board workers are off the job today in the first day of a planned two-day strike. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

MONTREAL – Some 5,000 Quebec liquor corporation workers have walked off the job for a planned two-day strike.

Their union – Syndicat des employé(e)s de magasins et de bureaux de la SAQ – confirmed at midnight on Facebook it was launching the strike after a lack of progress at the negotiating table.

It says the two strike days are the first to be used under the union’s 15-day strike mandate.

The union says some 70 per cent of its members are part-time or on call, and it is calling on the Société des alcools du Québec to create more full-time positions and give employees access to insurance and training.

The union says wages have not yet been addressed during negotiations.

The management of the Crown corporation says some liquor stores will remain open during the strike.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.