Food Basics employees get wage increases in new Ontario deal

Grocery store employees at Food Basics have a new deal for higher wages.

In mid-November, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union announced that Food Basics members had voted 99.5 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.

Food Basics Collective Agreement expired on Aug. 19 and covered approximately 7,350 bargaining unit members at 114 stores in Ontario. The first round of bargaining began in August and the union requested conciliation services from the province’s Ministry of Labour in early November.

The negotiating committee broke off talks on Nov. 3 due to the “employer’s proposals to seek concessions in the contract and inexcusable wage offers.”

But Food Basics, a subsidiary of Metro Inc., announced today (Dec. 11) that its unionized employees at 114 Food Basics locations in Ontario ratified a new five-year collective agreement.

The agreement provides wage increases and benefits improvements for all employees, including part-time employees.

“We are pleased to have reached a fair and equitable outcome that allows us to continue to meet the needs of our customers, our employees and our business,” said Paul Bravi, senior vice president, Food Basics. ”

Metro Inc. boasts annual sales of more than $20 billion and employs more than 95,000 people in Ontario and Quebec.

The company operates or services a network of 975 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics, and 645 drugstores primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners.

Employees at several grocery stores have threatened job action or went on strike including No Frills, Loblaw, and Metro.