According to a press release issued Saturday, the full-time employees work at a distribution center in Etobicoke that supplies groceries throughout southern Ontario.
The workers have been without a contract since October 2021, officials say.
A test agreement between the union – Unifor Local 414 – and Metro was reached on April 1, but the next day the members chose not to ratify it.
Details of the collective bargaining agreement have not been released, but a union spokesman said earlier that workers hoped their hard work throughout the pandemic would be reflected in “salaries, pensions and benefits”.
“Members have the final say on the trial agreement and have chosen to reject this offer,” Unifor National Assistant President Chris McDonald said in a statement.
“The negotiating committee is ready to resume negotiations in the hope that this strike will end quickly.”
Metro Ontario Inc. said in a statement that it was disappointed with the workers’ decision to go on strike, given the fact that the trade union negotiating committee unanimously proposed the settlement.
“The settlement provided significant increases for employees, including an average increase of six percent in hourly wages in the first year of the agreement and an overall salary increase of 14 percent over four years, as well as improvements in pensions and benefits.” the spokesman said adding that the company is ready to return to the table.
“We have implemented the emergency plan and our stores will remain open to serve our customers”
Last week, workers voted 99 percent in favor of the strike order if no collective agreement is reached by April.
