Metro workers latest to strike as Canada sees a wave of job actions

Thousands of unionized Metro grocery workers walked off the job Saturday in what is the latest in a series of strike actions taken across the country in the past year, from liquor store employees to port workers.

Thousands of unionized Metro grocery workers walked off the job Saturday in what is the latest in a series of strike actions taken across the country in the past year.

Some 3,700 members of Unifor Local 414 went on strike, described as the largest in the union's history and affecting 27 Metro locations in the Greater Toronto Area.

It comes as unionized workers at British Columbia's ports rejected a tentative agreement late Friday night and as Manitoba Liquor Mart employees stayed off the job Saturday in their continued strike action.

"Interest rates, inflation, CEO profits soaring, profits in terms of what corporations are making soaring, while our members are struggling to get by," Unifor national president Lana Payne said Saturday as Metro workers held their strike.

Although Unifor endorsed a deal with Metro, with Payne describing it as the "best agreement in decades," the membership did not support it.

Payne added that it is not enough for the workers to live on or support their families, with 70 per cent of jobs part-time and average pay between $16 and $17 an hour.

She said that the workers, who put their lives on the line during the height of COVID-19 and later saw their pandemic pay cut, deserve a share of the money that they helped Metro earn.