(Toronto) Metro has won an interim injunction to restrict picketing by its employees at its Toronto distribution warehouses, the latest development in a month-long standoff between the grocer and thousands of workers represented by Unifor.
Deliveries will resume and stores will be restocked as soon as possible, the Montreal grocer said in a statement.
“Metro remains engaged in the negotiation process and wishes to present its offer; she urges the union to get back to the table (to) settle this file, ”said spokesperson Marie-Claude Bacon.
Metro announced on Friday that it has sought an injunction against the Unifor union and workers, amid a third day of picketing at its distribution warehouses, which prevented the delivery of fresh produce, including fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy products, at its stores across the province.
More than 3,700 workers at 27 Metro stores in the Greater Toronto Area have been on strike since July 29, after rejecting an initial tentative agreement.
The injunction, effective immediately, prohibits strikers from unlawfully blocking or delaying access to several Metro distribution centers and corporate offices, but allows them to delay delivery vehicles for up to five minutes.
It expires Friday, September 1 at midnight. The restricted locations also include a Food Basics store located in the grocer’s offices on Dundas Street West.
Interim injunctions are meant to put rules in place before a final decision on whether the law has been violated, which can take some time, David Doorey, associate professor of labor and employment law, explained in an email. job at York University.
Metro will have to seek another injunction if the strikers resume their restricted activities after the expiration, Doorey said.
Workers will continue to picket lawfully, as permitted by the injunction, Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement.
“We look forward to an agreement with Metro that will end the strike and provide decent work and pay for frontline grocery store workers,” she said.
Unifor said it was waiting for a better salary offer from Metro before returning to the table.
“If there’s one group of workers who deserve respect, decent pay and decent work, it’s the grocery store workers in this country,” Payne told reporters during a picket. secondary strike last Wednesday.
The union hopes the grocer will return with an offer “that addresses the significant affordability challenges faced by its frontline workers,” Payne said.
The strikers are demanding the return of their $2 per hour pandemic “hero bonus”.
Metro said last week it had filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit against Unifor, arguing the union was not bargaining in good faith by refusing to return to the bargaining table.