The union is seeking an 18-per-cent increase over a three-year period, while the employer us offering 13.25 per cent over four years.
Unionized employees at the Dare Foods plant in Ste-Martine in the Montérégie launched an indefinite general strike on Sunday morning as part of their wage demands.
The 100 or so members of the Union of Professional and Clerical Employees, Local 574 (SEPB-574), had voted 85 per cent in favour of a strike mandate on Nov. 13.
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Union president Mario Longtin said the pressure on management was “necessary” after more than 18 months of negotiations.
“We were there. It has been since December 2021 that we have been in intense negotiations, and therefore we no longer had a choice”, he said in an interview.
According to a statement issued on Sunday, the union had demanded an 18-per-cent increase over a three-year period, while the employer was offering 13.25 per cent over four years.
The employer’s offer is insufficient to ensure the retention of personnel within the plant, especially in the context of a labour shortage, Longtin said.
“We’ve had a lot of turnover for a few years … because the salaries are not high enough,” he said.
He said the union had made several proposals to the employer, but they had all been refused.
“We want recognition for the last years we spent,” Longtin said. “We worked very hard during the confinement, and we got nothing in return”, adding that the patience of the union members was “at the end.”
The management of Dare Foods declined the interview request from The Canadian Press.
Reached by email, Mylène Forget, public relations officer for the company, said management would not grant any interviews in order to “maintain a climate of respectful negotiations”.
“Negotiations with the union representing the employees of the Ste-Martine plant are still continuing today with the aim of reaching an agreement satisfactory to both the employees and the company,” said an email sent on Saturday.
The union’s collective agreement expired in April 2021.
Dare Foods is due to inaugurate a new production line at the Ste-Martine plant in December, a project that could be disrupted because of the strike.
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