(Toronto) Food analysts believe the new collective agreement recently won by Metro workers in 27 Toronto-area markets raises the bar for bargaining for grocery workers in other parts of Canada.
The approximately 3,700 union members of Toronto’s Metro stores are returning to work after a month of strike. They ultimately voted in favor of a tentative agreement that would see all workers receive an immediate wage increase of $1.50 an hour. Full-time and part-time core workers will also see a $2 hourly wage increase within a few months.
The Unifor union said it plans to try to replicate those gains in 13 grocer contracts that are due to expire before the end of next year.
Stephanie Ross, an associate professor in the School of Social Studies at McMaster University in Ontario, thinks the deal reached at Metro will help set a threshold for future labor contracts, not just for Unifor but also for other unions.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union represents approximately 140,000 grocery store workers across Canada. Two of his biggest contracts in British Columbia were negotiated this year.
Professor Ross says advances made by unions could also help unorganized workers, as grocers compete for workers amid labor shortages.
