The union representing employees at Real Canadian Superstore outlets in Alberta has served strike notice to the company's negotiators.

In a written statement, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 said strike notice was given to Loblaw, the parent company for Superstore, on Thursday night.

The union, which represents 8,500 Superstore employees across the province, says workers will hit the picket line at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 6.

The labour group says Loblaw offered a settlement earlier this week and improved it slightly Thursday, but it was refused.

The union told the Herald in August that a major sticking point between workers and Loblaw was hours of work. Union spokesperson Christine McMeckan said at the time that about 80 per cent of Superstore employees are part-time workers who depend on getting a certain number of shifts each week to survive.

McMeckan had said the company had “slashed hours” in recent years, frustrating employees who were struggling to carry out all their duties in a run of a shift.

Julija Hunter, vice-president of public relations for Loblaw Companies Limited, declined to comment in an August interview about the details of the contract negotiations. But she at the time that the company was committed to reaching a deal and preventing a strike.

The last time Superstore employees took strike votes in Alberta, a deal was struck in the dying days and a strike was averted.