27 Metro Stores Closed as Workers Strike for Fairer Wages

More than 3,700 associates at 27 Metro Inc. stores in the Greater Toronto area went on strike last week in an effort to attain better wages and working conditions. Union workers with Unifor Local 414 rejected a tentative collective agreement reached last week and have vowed to remain on strike until their issues are addressed.

The union initially endorsed the tentative agreement but members later rejected it due to its inability to meet the soaring cost of living, and Metro has expressed its disappointment over the breakdown in negotiations.

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"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," read a statement from Metro Ontario.

Continued the company: "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."

Unifor National President Lana Payne said the decision to strike came after years of workers being “nickeled and dimed while facing increased precarity and eroded job quality.”

“It comes after having pandemic pay stripped away. It comes at a time of record profits and soaring CEO compensation,” Payne said. “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. We brought the tentative agreement to our members because it contained considerable gains, but our members are clear that it simply isn’t enough.”

While the affected stores are closed as workers walk the picket line, Metro’s pharmacies will remain open. According to local reports, Metro is donating perishable products to local food banks while its stores remain closed.

With annual sales of more than CAD $19 billion, Montreal-based Metro Inc. is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 95,000 people. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer and provider of e-commerce services, 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 drug stores. Metro is No. 28 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.