Union members with the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) have voted to accept an agreement with the SQDC for increased wages, hours, and working conditions. 

The members accepted the agreement in a meeting on the evening of June 26.

“We are satisfied with this agreement, which allows us to catch up a good deal between our collective agreement and that of our comrades in the SAQ stores,” says Maxime Nadeau, president of the SQDC–CSN. 

Employees succeeded in securing salary increases of 16-34% over a four-year agreement. For employees at the high end of the salary scale, their salaries will increase from $19.92 per hour to more than $23 at the end of the agreement. 

Employees will also now be able to reach the highest salary scale in three and a half years, rather than eight under their old agreement. 

Full-time employees are also now guaranteed two more hours per week, and team leader bonuses of 10% to 15% will also be awarded.  

In their own press release, the SQDC says it is “satisfied with this beneficial agreement for all parties concerned, which offers good working conditions to employees, while focusing on work-family balance. This new 4-year agreement will allow the SQDC to pursue its mission of ensuring the sale of cannabis from a health protection perspective, in order to integrate consumers into the legal cannabis market and keep them there, without encouraging the consumption of cannabis.”

Another union representing SQDC employees, CUPE, also initiated a strike action earlier this year. No comment was available from CUPE representatives as of press time. 

Featured image via csn.qc.ca