Liquor & Lotteries eyes September arbitration deadline as conciliation hits standstill: CEO
CBC
The head of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries says all roads in the ongoing labour dispute with its workers' union lead to binding arbitration, which could potentially take up to a year, since conciliation talks have hit a standstill.
"When you look at it, there's really only two pathways out of this — you go to arbitration now, or you wait until Sept. 17 and you go to arbitration," Gerry Sul, president and CEO of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries told CBC News on Wednesday.
Sul says the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents about 1,400 Liquor Mart workers, is choosing to prolong the strike because they won't budge from original demands on wages.
Liquor and Lotteries is also unwilling to change its offer, he said, so it's time to let an arbitrator decide what's fair.
An independent conciliator met with both parties on Monday, recommending the two put an end to the strike and proceed into binding arbitration focused on general wage increases, which the Crown corporation accepted, a Wednesday news release issued by Liquor & Lotteries says.
"By going to binding arbitration, both parties make their pitch as to why they believe their offer is fair, and you put it out on the table for the arbitrator to determine the outcome," said Sul, adding that Liquor & Lotteries is up for taking that risk.
The union declined to go to arbitration unless minimum general wage increases included in their original demands were met by the arbitrator, the Liquor & Lotteries release says.
The 1,400 Liquor & Lotteries employees represented by MGEU have been without a contract since their last collective agreement expired in March 2022.
Liquor Mart employees began limited job action in July, but expanded that to a full provincewide strike last week.
Under current labour laws, parties involved in a labour dispute can apply for binding arbitration — in which a decision is legally binding and enforceable, similar to a court order — if a strike or lockout continues for 60 days.
Both parties will be made to enter arbitration if they don't reach a deal by Sept. 17, said Sul.
On the other hand, the head of the workers' union says it's Liquor & Lotteries that's keeping negotiations from moving ahead by not sticking it out with conciliation.
MGEU president Kyle Ross says the union spoke to the conciliator on Wednesday and wants to keep going to the bargaining table, while Liquor & Lotteries does not.
"I think our members and the employer are in very different positions," he said.
