OPSEU signs historic deal with LCBO on "equal pay for equal work"

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - The union representing 7,500 LCBO workers has signed a breakthrough deal with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the province to make "equal pay for equal work" a reality for thousands of LCBO Customer Service Representatives (CSRs).

The agreement arose from a union complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario by members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. In the complaint, OPSEU asserted that the LCBO's pay structure for CSRs in its stores and depots discriminated against workers in the female-dominated "casual" classification.

"This is an historic agreement by any measure," said Denise Davis, Chair of the Liquor Board Employees Division of OPSEU. "As a result of this deal, more than 4,000 casuals will be on a pay grid that takes them to the top rate earned by full-time permanent staff.

"More than seven years since we first raised the issue with the LCBO, we have achieved 'equal pay for equal work' for CSRs," she said. "It's an incredible feeling."

The length of the new pay grid and other details are still to be negotiated. Any matters on which the parties cannot agree will be settled at arbitration no later than February 2017.

"This agreement shows that working people, working together, can challenge the trend towards precarious work and win," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "I am intensely proud of our members and our union.

"OPSEU has proven once again that we are leaders when it comes to negotiating equal pay for equal work," he said. "This agreement can serve as a model for all employers and unions to emulate."

OPSEU represents 130,000 Ontario public sector workers.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Denise Davis, 905-767-6867; Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931