Ahead of the August Long Weekend Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries have closed six liquor stores until further notice in response to strike action by union members.
All Liquor Mart Express Outlets are shuttered until a labor dispute between MBLL and members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union is settled.
Locations on Bison Drive, Gateway, Reenders, Sargent, St Anne’s, as well as Brandon’s West End are closed going forward.
The Union says workers will be back in all other stores tomorrow through the long weekend unless MBLL shuts them out.
Distribution and head office members will continue striking, while others will continue to not receive inventory and refuse overtime.
During a protest at the Manitoba Legislature Thursday, MGEU President Kyle ross said the strike will go on as long as it has to.
“After years of cuts and wage freezes, the premier and her cabinet are not offering front-line public service workers what they themselves are receiving,” he said.
Union members are demanding higher wages to keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living. The MBLL offered employees a two per cent annual wage increase which the union turned down
The union wants to see an offer more in line with what MLAs and Premier Heather Stefanson are due to receive in raises, which are pegged at a 3.6 per cent increase in 2024 and 2025.
Stefanson said she’s confident the two parties will settle on a collective agreement, as was done between heathcare workers and the province last month.
Despite the lockouts and strike action over the last two weeks, large-scale events like Folklorama and the Icelandic Festival say their beverage supplies are in good shape.
– with files from Rosanna Hempel