Court restricts union pickets at Metro warehouses, grocer says deliveries to resume
Metro has been granted a temporary injunction to restrict pickets by striking workers at distribution warehouses in Toronto.
Deliveries will resume and stores will be resupplied as soon as possible, the Montreal-based grocer said in a statement.
"Metro remains committed to the bargaining process and wants to present its offer; it urges the union to go back to the table [to] resolve this matter," said spokeswoman Marie-Claude Bacon.
Metro announced it was seeking an injunction against Unifor and the workers on Friday, the third day of picketing at its distribution warehouses that prevented deliveries of fresh products to its stores provincewide.
More than 3,700 workers at 27 Metro stores in the Greater Toronto Area have been on strike since July 29 after rejecting their first tentative agreement.
The order, effective immediately, restricts picketers from unlawfully blocking or delaying access to multiple Metro distribution centres and corporate offices, but allows them to delay delivery vehicles for up to five minutes.
It expires at midnight on Friday, Sept. 1. The restricted locations also include a Food Basics store located at the grocer's corporate offices on Dundas St. W.
The workers will continue to picket lawfully as permitted by the order, said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a statement.
"We look forward to an agreement with Metro that ends the strike and provides decent work and pay for frontline grocery workers," she said.
Unifor has said it's waiting for a better wage offer from Metro before it returns to the table.
The union is hopeful the grocer will come back with an offer "that addresses the significant affordability challenges facing its frontline workers," said Payne.
The striking workers have been calling for the return of their pandemic 'hero pay' of $2 an hour.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Missing B.C. climber died from fall on Mount Baker, medical examiner says
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Anne Hathaway confirms 'Princess Diaries 3': 'Miracles happen'
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it’s officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Sask. man pleads guilty in U.S. after unknowingly providing videos of men raping toddlers to FBI agent
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.