Job action ‘illegal’: UFCW
Sobeys has begun a lockout of more than 600 Safeway workers, which the union is calling illegal, according to a complaint filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW), Local 1518 at the B.C. Labour Relations Board on Feb. 1.
The complaint comes in the wake of Sobeys’ announcement that it will close 10 Safeway stores across the lower mainland of British Columbia. Sobeys further stated that it would consider re-opening five of those locations if the company received an “appropriate” collective agreement for FreshCo, its discount banner from Ontario, said the union.
Ivan Limpright, UFCW 1518 President, said the timing of the announcement coupled with the nature of the FreshCo news and the fact that the pharmacies at the five locations earmarked for FreshCo will remain open provide grounds for the illegal lockout complaint.
“Look, we’re about to begin negotiations with the company. And Sobeys picks this moment to announce 10 store closures?” said Limpright. “The company’s message is clear: it will re-open at least five of those stores only if the union and our members accept a substandard agreement.”
“That constitutes an illegal lockout. It’s a threat intended to intimidate our members, weaken the union’s position and further Sobeys’ own cause at the bargaining table,” said Limpright.
The B.C. Labour Relations Code defines an illegal lockout as “closing a place of work, a suspension of work or a refusal by an employer to continue to employ a number of…employees” in order to compel the employees to agree to conditions of employment,” said Limpright.
