27 Metro stores in GTA close as workers begin strike after rejecting ...

The head of the union representing thousands of striking Metro grocery store workers across the Greater Toronto Area says members can no longer accept labour agreements that still leave them scrambling to make ends meet.

Unifor National president Lana Payne said some 3,700 employees who walked off the job Saturday can no longer rely on their Metro paycheques to support themselves and their families.

"They have a lot of courage to give up their paycheque, as small as it is, in order to take a stand and say enough is enough, we need to share in the money that we helped Metro earn," Payne said at a news conference Saturday.

"This is what we're facing now, workers are fighting back." 

She adds most grocery store jobs across Canada are now part-time roles, adding workers in the industry are fighting for both greater stability and a share of the billions in profits the largest grocery retailers have netted in recent months.

Members of Unifor Local 414 voted to launch strike action just after midnight, and picket lines at the 27 affected store locations went up as of 8 a.m.

Union members walked off the job after rejecting a tentative labour agreement reached last week.

Unifor says stores affected by the strike will be closed and include those in Toronto and its suburbs, Brantford, Orangeville, Milton, Oakville, Brampton and Mississauga.

Metro Ontario Inc. a subsidiary of Metro Inc., issued a statement saying it is "extremely disappointed" that employees at the 27 locations rejected the agreement even though the union bargaining committee unanimously recommended its members accept the deal.

"The company has been negotiating with the union for the past few weeks and reached a fair and equitable agreement that meets the needs of our employees and our customers while ensuring that Metro remains competitive," Metro Ontario said in the statement.

"The settlement provided significant increases for employees in all four years of the agreement, as well as pension and benefits improvements for all employees, including part-time employees."

Metro Ontario said the 27 stores will be closed for the duration of the strike, but pharmacies will remain open.

Payne said in a statement that the tentative agreement was brought to members because it contained "considerable gains" but they have made it clear that it isn't enough.

"This decision to go on strike comes after years of these workers being nickelled and dimed while facing increased precarity and eroded job quality," Payne said.

"It comes after having pandemic pay stripped away. It comes at a time of record profits and soaring CEO compensation. It comes at a time when life has become simply unaffordable for so many of these workers who risked their health and safety during the pandemic."

Gord Currie, president of Unifor Local 414, said in the same statement that front-line grocery workers deserve respect.

"You know the system is broken when front-line workers can't afford food, rent or gas," he said.