The Canadian Union of Public Employees (SCFP) held what the group is calling “information sessions” outside of five Société des alcools du Quebéc (SAQ) stores in the greater Montreal area to denounce the idea of privatizing the institution.
Finance minister Carlos Leitao has said that he is studying the possibility of privatizing the SAQ.
READ MORE: SAQ to lay off 190 employees
Union members handed out tote bags and flyers to customers in the hopes of getting their message heard.
Among them was regional executive director Marc Ranger, who was at the SAQ near the Atwater Market.
“We have good jobs [at the SAQ] with good benefits,” Ranger said. “What’s the problem with that model? It’s a good model; it’s working. So I say to the government: leave us alone, leave the employee alone.”
The SCFP represents approximately 850 employees, with 200 working in distribution centres in Quebec and 650 in distribution centres in Montreal.