

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A union representing about 7,000 Liquor Control Board of Ontario employees is opening strike offices across the province today as a Friday deadline for labour action draws closer.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union will open strike offices in Toronto, London, Hamilton, Peterborough, Ottawa, Sudbury and Thunder Bay today with media events planned for each location.

The OPSEU also says it will open an additional 26 offices throughout the week.

Last month, about 95 per cent of unionized LCBO employees voted in favour of walking off the job at midnight on Friday should a new collective agreement not be reached.

LCBO employees have been without a contract since a four-year deal expired on March 31.

The main issue of contention concerns pay for part-time workers.

At a news conference Monday, union steward and strike mobilizer Craig Hadley said the LCBO has a responsibility to create and protect good-paying jobs that would support families, and it can afford to do so given the billion-dollar profits from liquor sales.

Hadley said the unionized workers would rather reach a fair contract agreement than walk the picket line, but they are prepared to go on strike, if necessary.

“We are ready to go. We’re ready to go across Ontario,” Hadley told reporters.

OPSEU said the number of full-time and permanent positions has dwindled over the years, as the LCBO turns to casual workers to fill the void.

"To reach an agreement, the LCBO must address the inequities of part-time work," OPSEU President Warren Thomas said in a press release issued Friday. "So far, the LCBO is ignoring the glaring wage and scheduling issues for part-time staff. This is unacceptable to us."

LCBO employees also voted in favour of a work stoppage in 2005 and 2009, but both sides returned to the table and negotiated a new collective agreement before any action was taken

Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.