SAQ workers should be able to sell cannabis, union says

The union representing SAQ employees says the provincial liquor agency is needlessly doubling its staffing structure to service the cannabis market.

Interim president Katia Lelièvre called on the Société des alcools du Québec to use the manpower and delivery network already in place to run the future Société québécoise du cannabis (SQC).

The union distributed pamphlets in all SAQ outlets throughout Easter weekend extolling the expertise of their members. Lelièvre noted SAQ employees are trained to sell responsibly and know how to manage difficult clientele. In addition, 70 per cent of the union’s members work part-time, 10 to 12 hours a week, on average. It makes sense for those employees to complete their work week in the new offshoot of the SAQ, the union said.

The bill outlining the SQC initially did not permit employees to work in both divisions. This element was withdrawn at the request of workers, but an employee of the SAQ who wants to work with the SQC will have to be hired separately at a particular branch.

Lelièvre said the constraint was a form of union busting.

“The only justification we can find, is that this is a tactic to avoid that employees (of the SQC) would have better working conditions,” she said. “If you take people who are not unionized from the start, they have to start at zero.”