Metro grocery workers in GTA to strike after rejecting tentative deal | 24CA News
Grocery retailer employees at 27 Metro places within the Greater Toronto Area have rejected a tentative deal and are set to start strike motion on Saturday.
Unifor says in an announcement that front-line grocery employees at 27 Metro shops will start strike motion on Saturday at 12:01 a.m., with picket traces forming on the shops at 8 a.m.
The union says the strike motion comes after members of Unifor Local 414 voted to reject a tentative collective settlement reached final week.
Local 414 represents some 3,700 employees throughout the GTA.
Unifor says shops affected by the strike will embody these in Toronto, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton, North York, Islington, Willowdale, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Newmarket and Scarborough.
Metro Ontario Inc. a subsidiary of Metro Inc., stated in an announcement that it’s “extremely disappointed” that workers on the 27 places rejected the settlement despite the fact that the union bargaining committee unanimously advisable it to its members.
“The company has been negotiating with the union for the past few weeks and reached a fair and equitable agreement that meets the needs of our employees and our customers while ensuring that Metro remains competitive,” Metro Ontario stated within the assertion.
“The settlement provided significant increases for employees in all four years of the agreement, as well as pension and benefits improvements for all employees, including part-time employees.”
The union has stated its priorities for Metro employees have been bettering pay and entry to advantages, in addition to bettering working circumstances and stability.
Unifor nationwide president Lana Payne stated in an announcement that the tentative settlement was delivered to members as a result of it contained “considerable gains” however they’ve made it clear that it isn’t sufficient.
“This decision to go on strike comes after years of these workers being nickelled and dimed while facing increased precarity and eroded job quality,” Payne stated.
“It comes after having pandemic pay stripped away. It comes at a time of record profits and soaring CEO compensation. It comes at a time when life has become simply unaffordable for so many of these workers who risked their health and safety during the pandemic.”
Gord Currie, president of Unifor Local 414, stated in the identical assertion that front-line grocery employees deserve respect.
“You know the system is broken when front-line workers can’t afford food, rent or gas,” he stated.
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