The strike continues for liquor store workers moving their picket line Friday to the clock tower in downtown Steinbach.
Employees have been striking to seek higher wages and the same 3.3 per cent increase Premier Heather Stefanson and cabinet ministers have received this year. They declined a two per cent increase from the provincial government.
The Steinbach Liquor Mart remains closed along with many other locations in the province.
On Thursday, August 10, The Manitoba Liquor Lotteries (MBLL) responded to clarify pay increases.
“Our customers, business partners, and our employees continue to be subjected to unnecessary disruption,” said Gerry Sul, President and CEO of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. “We are making every effort to maintain operations, but our most important efforts should be on getting our employees back to work."
According to the statement from MBLL, suggestions that 800 or more of their employees would only receive 8-9% in base pay increases are not accurate. MBLL provided examples for customer service clerks and warehouse workers, saying that increases would actually range from 14.7% to 24.55% depending on the starting wage.
On top of these direct base pay increases, according to MBLL, most of these employees would also receive a one-time lump sum payment/signing bonus of between $600 and $1000, depending on hours worked.
Meanwhile, the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU) released details about the pay increases the Manitoba government provided to two senior executives responsible for liquor operations at MBLL.
The statement from MGEU says, “It is truly insulting that workers are being asked to accept increases well below those taken by Premier Stefanson and her ministers and it rubs further salt into the wound seeing these increases granted to MBLL senior executives, particularly after they forced workers to fall so far behind in the previous four years.”
The workers have been working under an expired contract since March 2022.
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