The Canadian Press
TORONTO–Employees at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario have ratified a new four-year contract but just barely.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union said LCBO workers voted 56 percent in favour of a tentative agreement in voting held Tuesday and Wednesday.
The agreement, which was signed in late June with the help of a mediator, came just as the 8,000 unionized employees were set to begin a strike.
OPSEU said the new deal caps the number of casual workers at the LCBO at 70 percent from the current 84 percent, and commits the agency to reach the 70 percent mark within the life of the four-year contract.
The union noted the deal also increases job security, improves scheduling, and brings an end to the practice of scheduling workers for two-hour shifts.
The LCBO workers had been without a contract since the end of March and had voted 93 percent in favour of a strike in April.
“Tonight’s ratification vote of 56 percent in favour is a clear signal that there is still work to do to improve labour relations at the LCBO,” union president Warren “Smokey” Thomas said in a statement.
“This deal sends a clear message: workers can win when they stand together to push back against precarious work and demand better,” he added.
