After warnings that the tentative agreement reached yesterday between the LCBO and the union representing its workers might collapse, both sides are now saying they have signed off on a return-to-work protocol.
Early on Friday afternoon, both the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the LCBO said they had reached an agreement to bring more than 9,000 workers back to the front lines and reopen liquor stores across Ontario after a lengthy stalemate.
The Crown agency said if the deal is ratified by union members, the strike would end at 12:01 a.m. on July 22, and stores would open the next day.
Later in the afternoon, however, the two sides suggested the tentative agreement — which would still need to be accepted by workers — was in danger of collapse.
Both sides went from celebrating the agreement after weeks of deadlock to accusing each other of acting in bad faith.
The union alleged that the LCBO had not signed a return-to-work protocol and could not agree to a deal without that, while the LCBO accused the union of making fresh demands after reaching the tentative agreement.
But now it seems both sides have simmered down, announcing early Saturday morning that they have signed off on a return-to-work protocol that does not include any new monetary items.
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In the statement, the Crown agency said that all unionized employees would return to work on Monday, July 22 and stores would be open to shoppers on Tuesday, July 23 pending ratification.
JP Hornick, president of OPSEU SEFPO, said they have a signed tentative agreement and a signed return-to-work protocol.
Hornick said their union members have until 3 p.m. Sunday to vote on the agreement.
They would not comment on whether the agreement is expected to pass but said the power is now in the hands of the workers.
When asked about what led to the deal potentially falling apart late Friday, Hornick maintained that no fresh demands had been made and that they had submitted a standard return-to-work protocol they had used in the past, which was not well received by the employer.
“It’s the first strike in the 97-year history of the LCBO. This might not have been folks who were familiar with the normal return-to-work process. It’s been a long day, so I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt on this, and the outcome is now, as a result, we have a return to work,” Hornick said.
Hornick said cooler heads prevailed, and they were able to get things back on track to work towards a resolution.
“I think it was an unnecessary interruption in yesterday’s proceedings and very unfortunate, and we are simply glad to have that resolved and be able to move forward with the vote so that our workers can exercise their say.”
Hornick said the union’s goal was to protect public revenue used for public education and health care and its members’ jobs.
In the settlement they reached, Hornick said there is a commitment to keeping spirits within the LCBO as the sole distributor, a commitment that all 680 stores will remain open, a cap on stores run by independent people, and a plan to create a task force to discuss how to modernize the LCBO while also adding 1,000 new permanent part-time jobs in retail, 60 new jobs on the warehouse side of things, and protect jobs at head office.
“The workers have made it clear to Ontarians that Doug Ford’s alcohol-everywhere plan directly threatened jobs and public revenues. While this round of bargaining isn’t over until the deal is ratified, I’m incredibly proud of the workers and the stand they’ve taken,” said Colleen MacLeod, chair of the union’s bargaining team.
With files from Global News’ Isaac Callan, Aaron D’Andrea & Colin D’Mello