The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and the union representing 10,000 of its workers reached a tentative agreement Saturday more than two weeks after the strike began.
Both the LCBO and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), signed off on a return-to-work protocol Saturday morning after the tentative deal was put on hold a day earlier. A vote to ratify the deal will take place over the weekend, according to the union.
“We look forward to welcoming our 10,000 unionized employees back to work on Monday,” LCBO said.
OPSEU had said Friday the LCBO was refusing to sign a return-to-work protocol that would see workers return to the job on Monday.
After a brief news conference by the union, both sides returned again to the bargaining table later that afternoon.
OPSEU called the tentative settlement a “a win for workers and Ontarians,” in a news release issued Saturday.
“This tentative deal protects good jobs in every community and the public revenues generated by the LCBO,” said bargaining chair Colleen MacLeod in a statement Saturday.
“The workers have made it clear to Ontarians that Doug Ford’s alcohol-everywhere plan directly threatened jobs and public revenues. While this round of bargaining isn’t over until the deal is ratified, I’m incredibly proud of the workers and the stand they’ve taken.”
More to come.