Workers at the Flin Flon Liquor Mart went on strike for a fourth day July 28, forming a picket line as part of a province-wide job action over wage disputes with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MLL).
The picket came after a one-day strike last week, part of coordinated job action from the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU), which oversaw similar strikes across the province for MLL employees.
The union covers about 1,400 employees, including workers at the Flin Flon Liquor Mart. Those staff have been working without a new contract since March 2022, when their previous one expired. No deal has yet been reached between MGEU leadership and the provincial government, with offers from the province not passing muster with the union.
“Negotiations for a new contract have been compromised by a very restrictive bargaining mandate, imposed by the Premier and her cabinet,” reads an MGEU statement.
“As a result, the employer has only offered wage increases of two per cent per year over four years, plus a little extra for workers at the very bottom of the wage scale to keep them in line with minimum wage increases. This falls short of what’s needed to keep up with the soaring cost of living.”
Starting wage for MLL workers has been held at $14.91 per hour, not much higher than the province’s minimum wage. In major centres, employees at MLL facilities have left for other jobs at other retail sale locations, which offer higher deals, but such a move is difficult in a place like Flin Flon.
The MGEU has proposed wage increases over the next three years that match the ones taken by Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson - 3.3 per cent, 3.6 per cent and 3.6 per cent over the next three years, assuming Stefanson is reelected to her job this fall.
Other MLL employees have also walked off the job this week down south - staff at the Crown corporation’s King Edward Street distribution centre picketed from Tuesday to Thursday. All MGEU bargaining unit members are also refusing to fulfill requests for overtime work. Further strikes are possible if MGEU and the MLL do not reach an agreement.
