Striking liquor workers decried raises given to Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries’ top brass amid a two-year wage freeze for union employees as neither the Crown corporation nor the union budged from their bargaining positions Thursday.
Liquor Mart and MLL distribution centre employees took the picket line to Premier Heather Stefanson’s Tuxedo constituency office Thursday morning to call attention to the corporation’s executive payroll and compensation increases for two of its officers.
“For our members, those with me here today, hearing that their bosses took 16 per cent while they were required to take just 1.75 per cent in the last round of bargaining just strengthens our resolve,” Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross told reporters as vehicles travelling on Grant Avenue honked in support of the strike.
MLL workers walk the picket line outside the distribution centre on King Edward in Winnipeg last week.
“We are not asking for buckets of cash. We are asking for fairness.”
The union singled out compensation provided to MLL chief executive officer Gerry Sul and liquor and cannabis operations vice-president Robert Holmberg.
MLL must report total compensation paid to employees who earn more than $75,000 a year under the Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act.
Between 2018 and 2022, both Sul and Holmberg’s total pay increased by about 16 per cent, or approximately four per cent annually, on average.
The figures reported represent total compensation, including regular salary, overtime, vacation and discretionary leave payouts, among other benefits.
During the same period, unionized workers received a cumulative 1.75 per cent wage increase, or 0.45 per cent annually, in line with the Progressive Conservative government’s Public Services Sustainability Act. The act called for a two-year wage freeze followed by general wage increases of 0.75 and one per cent to curb salary costs.
“Rising inflation and the cost of groceries going up so much, that’s what our members face every day and they feel the struggle of the last wage mandate, and we need to catch up.”–Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross
A coalition of 28 unions took the government to court over its wage-freeze legislation in 2019, arguing it was unconstitutional. The bill was never proclaimed into law and it was repealed last June.
“Rising inflation and the cost of groceries going up so much, that’s what our members face every day and they feel the struggle of the last wage mandate, and we need to catch up,” Ross said.
“Our members are struggling. The wage offer isn’t remotely close to what’s fair, and we know what Premier Stefanson deems fair, and why can’t they offer it to everyone else?”
A spokesperson for MLL called the union’s characterization of the executives’ compensation “inaccurate and unfair.”
“During the period reported, Mr. Sul received acting pay as he was the interim CEO for a period of five months in 2019 and in 2021,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Free Press. “He was also promoted to a new role as executive vice-president of gaming and entertainment, both of which affected his compensation.
“Also, during this period, Mr. Holmberg saw his responsibilities increase significantly with the addition of cannabis operations to his portfolio, which was reflected in his compensation.”
Both Sul and Holmberg received the “same mandated increases” provided to all MLL employees, the spokesperson said.
About 1,400 MLL workers have been without a contract since March 2022 and want raises in line with those obtained by Stefanson and her cabinet — 3.3 per cent in 2023 and 3.6 per cent in both 2024 and 2025.
MGEU began labour action at MLL-operated retail outlets July 19 and a week later agreed to the Crown corporation’s request to bring in a conciliator. After a series of lockouts over the holiday weekend, the union decided Monday to strike provincewide, choking off liquor supplies and shuttering stores.
“Our customers, business partners and our employees continue to be subjected to unnecessary disruption,” Sul said in a statement Thursday. “We are making every effort to maintain operations, but our most important efforts should be on getting our employees back to work.”
MLL is offering two per cent a year over four years, and raising the hourly starting wage $2.38 above the province’s minimum wage.
The current starting hourly wage for MLL workers is $14.91, increasing to $15.30 in October in line with the raise in minimum wage. The promised bump for entry-level workers would increase the starting wage to $17.68 hourly this year and by March 2025, the starting wage would be $18.57, when a one per cent recruitment and retention adjustment is applied that year.
Additionally, MLL said it is offering a one-time, lump-sum payment of between $600 and $1,00 to “almost all employees currently” receiving the starting wage, based on hours worked.
The corporation has accused the union of withholding details of the monetary offer from its membership.
In response, Ross said the union has been transparent with workers, who understand that a two per cent general wage increase down the line is not enough.
“These raises don’t really affect the vast majority of members. We’re looking for fairness for all our members, not just a couple at the bottom (of the wage scale),” he said.
Both MGEU and MLL said conciliation talks continue.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
