Tentative deal to end LCBO strike on hold as province accuses union of introducing new demands

The LCBO strike appears to be back on just hours after a tentative agreement was announced.

The LCBO strike appears to be back on just hours after a tentative agreement was announced.

The LCBO announced the agreement with the workers earlier on Friday afternoon, noting that it would allow stores to reopen as early as Tuesday.

But during a press conference later on Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for the union said that the province was refusing to sign a return-to-work protocol and without that document there was effectively no deal.

The LCBO then released a statement of its own moments later, accusing the union of introducing “significant new monetary demands” after the agreement was announced.

“To introduce a new set of demands after reaching a tentative agreement amounts to bad faith bargaining,” the LCBO said. “The LCBO expects to file an unfair labour practice in short order.”

The LCBO announced the tentative agreement just before 1 p.m. and the union released a statement of its own approximately 30 minutes later, noting that the deal would “protect jobs in every community as well as public revenues generated by LCBO sales.”