Liquor stores in Ontario will be closed entirely for two weeks if workers walk off the job at the beginning of July, with a “limited in-store shopping” setup should a strike drag on longer.
Unionized LCBO workers are counting down to a July 5 strike deadline, threatening to take drastic industrial action if demands such as job security, pay and how alcohol is sold in the province are not met.
In an update on Thursday, the LCBO said that it was putting in place preparations for how it would operate through a potential strike.
For the first 14 days of the strike — beginning on July 5, if no deal is reached — the LCBO said all of its retail stores across the province would be closed. From July 19, if the strike were to still be ongoing, 30 stores would open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a limited number of hours.
“While LCBO’s focus remains on achieving a deal that is fair to bargaining unit employees and helps the LCBO continue to operate effectively and efficiently for Ontario in a new marketplace, (the Ontario Public Service Employees Union) has clearly signalled its intent to strike,” the provincial agency said in a statement.
OPSEU, which represents LCBO workers, said the strike plan was evidence the LCBO was “not actually planning to negotiate a deal.”
The union said several bargaining dates were still scheduled ahead of the strike deadline.
“Despite the employer’s consistent unwillingness to bargain meaningfully, this plan is a dramatic, and heavy-handed move at a time when both sides should be working hard to reach an agreement,” OPSEU said in a statement on Friday.
The LCBO’s app and website will continue to work for the duration of a strike, although they will have “reasonable caps” on products.
The provincial agency also said it would also keep providing wholesale products to other places that remain open, such as licensed grocery stores, pubs and restaurants.
The LCBO began extending store hours on Thursday as the countdown continues. Until July 4, all LCBO stores will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the exception of Canada Day.
Contract talks between the Crown corporation and OPSEU have stalled over fundamental disagreements about the future of the LCBO and alcohol sales in Ontario.
The union, which received a 97 per cent strike mandate, will be in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. on July 5, sparking a flurry of preparations ahead of impending job action.
The Beer Store as well as local craft brewery bottle shops and wineries would also remain open.