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UFCW Canada Retail Council calls on Loblaw Companies to to stop ignoring its collective agreement obligations

UFCW Canada, the union that represents workers at grocery stores and warehouses across Canada operated by Loblaw Companies Limited is calling on the company to honour its labour contracts and to stop ignoring its labour relations obligations. The union is insisting that the company recognize all workers’ basic rights.

Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada's largest food retailer operating under a number of banners including Loblaw, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, No Frills, Fortinos, Extra Foods, Wholesale Club, Maxi, and Provigo.

According to Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW Canada, "across this country Loblaw is systematically embarking on a campaign of failing to respond to the grievances of our members and in many cases is unreasonably delaying the resolution of matters. It is as if workplace relations have disappeared in the struggling company."

Hanley's comments followed a meeting of the UFCW Canada Retail Council yesterday. The council is made up of the leadership of the UFCW Canada local unions that represent the Loblaw-banner workers across Canada, including UFCW Canada Locals 1000A, 175, 1977, 1518, 247, 401, 1118,  832, 1400, 500R, 501, 1991P, 503, 486, 1288P, and 864.

The Retail Council meeting was convened to discuss the state of the retail food industry in Canada and quickly became consumed with discussions surrounding Loblaw's flagrant disregard of the various collective agreements covering the terms and conditions of employment of its workers, as well as its hostile positioning in advance of negotiations for new collective agreements for its stores in western Canada.

"Loblaw has become a company that seems to have lost its direction and focus going forward into the future," said Hanley. "Its actions and the attitudes exhibited by senior management and those at the store level have become poisonous to the notion of a co-operative relationship between the company and its employees. That's not good for Loblaw or its customers and it's not good for the shareholders including the Weston family."

"UFCW Canada is not willing to tolerate such acts by Loblaw to circumvent and undermine our representational rights," said Hanley.

"Our local unions from coast to coast will be vigorously enforcing their collective agreements with the company and if the company's combative mood continues our union will respond leading up to negotiations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia, as well as in Alberta where negotiations are approaching a critical stage."

"In preparation for further action, we are also reviewing the company's recent decisive conviction under Alberta's labour laws of violating workers' rights to free association without coercion, intimidation, or harassment."

"We're in this for the long haul and so should be Loblaw. We encourage the company to act in good faith and to resolve our mutual problems in the interest of our members employed by the company and in the long term interests of the business."