LCBO employees fighting unfair treatment by managers

Province-wide campaign launched to protest conditions and unfair firings

Employees of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario staged an information picket July on 14 to protest unfair firings and suspensions of 24 workers at the board's warehouse in London.

John Coones, president of the Ontario Liquor Boards Employees' Union (OLBEU/NUPGE), rejected statements by management that they employees were absent from work illegally.

"They were off sick. They had doctor's notes and they were fired," he said. "The terminations and suspensions were unjustified."

More demonstrations will be held until management reinstates fired employees back, Coones said.

Previous report

London - The Ontario Liquor Boards Employees' Union (OLBEU/NUPGE) is launching a province-wide campaign to protest poisoned working conditions, the firing of 14 employees and the suspension of 10 others.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has accused the workers at its London operations of participating in an unauthorized job action by calling in sick. The union says all employees were off the job for valid reasons.

Union president John Coones requested an urgent meeting with management to deal with the situation in June. However, three days before the meeting was to have been held, the termination and suspension notices were issued.

"Over the past number of months, warehouse director Steve Marshall has deliberately attempted to provoke a reaction from employees through a number of policy changes and mistreatment of the employees at that facility," the union says.

Poisonous and petty

Two of the main issues involved are the treatment of casual employees and insufficient notice for overtime work.

Other issues include management prohibitions against drinking "coffee or a can of pop" while in the LCBO warehouse and listening to radios at work. Locks have also been removed from employee lockers and work schedules are not being posted in keeping with the terms of the employees' contract.

Coones has informed Wayne Zachar, director of staff relations for the LCBO, that the union will no longer allow grievances to be handled by mediation.

Instead, all employee disputes in future will be referred directly to an independent arbitrator, precluding direct negotiations between lawyers for the two sides.

Coones also announced that the union "will be launching a province-wide campaign making public the LCBO's treatment of its employees and their working conditions."

Information pickets will be established at various LCBO logistics facilities, retail stores, depots, regional offices and head offices across the province.

Jim Watson

The union is also appealing for support to sympathetic legislature member's at Queen's Park. The LCBO reports to Jim Watson, Ontario's Liberal minister of consumer affairs.

Web posted by NUPGE: 8 July 2004

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