SLGA liquor store employees plead with province to keep stores open

Workers at provincially run liquor stores are continuing to call on the government to reverse its plan to shut down stores operated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

The government’s decision to get out of the retail liquor business will cause 34 stores to close by the end of March.

Earlier this week, SLGA workers and members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) protested outside the Legislature to voice their displeasure.

Bob Stadnichuk, a SGEU vice-president for the retail regulatory sector, blames a lack of innovation by the provincial government for the reason why it wants to close the stores for good.

“(Liquor stores) are not spiraling; the government won’t allow us to run a business as a business,” he said. “If they would’ve given us what they call the level playing field back then, now we could show them greater profits, show them we could run these stores and compete with anyone in the private sector.”

Stadnichuk said because the liquor stores are operated by the government, they were run under various different rules than the ones private stores face.

That included basic items people use or tend to purchase alongside alcohol.

“(We couldn’t sell) glasses, corkscrews, pop and chips that people are looking for in a one-stop store,” Stadnichuk said. “Ice — they wouldn’t allow us to sell ice! And this is all from a government that decided it’s better to keep chopping off at the bottom and just let us fall apart.”

While the stores are to close by the end of March, Stadnichuk feels the government is trying to speed up that process and hurt workers in the process.

“SLGA is telling our stores to stop selling certain items, so we can’t replenish our stores and the shelves are looking bad,” he explained. “Originally, they told us they were going to ensure the viability of the stores until the end of March, but they aren’t even letting that happen anymore.”

He also questioned the timing of the decision given it’s the Christmas season and that tends to be one of the busier times of the year.

Courtney Topping works for one of the SLGA liquor stores in Prince Albert and has been there for 11 years.

She says the government’s decision to close down the stores has upended her plans for buying a home.

“On Dec. 1, I was supposed to have a mortgage, but I had to turn that down with my partner. It’s been very detrimental,” Topping explained. “It’s very unfortunate for all our members. It’s good-paying, reliable, sustainable income and we don’t know if we’ll be able to find something similar.”

She mentioned she’d like to go back to school, but says that’s not an option at this time.

“I would like to try and go back to school, but the carpet has basically been torn (from) below us,” she said. “What else are we going to do?”

Michelle Zimmer has worked for the SLGA in Saskatoon for 17 years and says the decision by the province will make it more difficult for her to provide for her kid as a single mother.

“These kind of jobs allow us to not have to struggle to pay our bills and have our kids in a happy and healthy household,” she said. “When we hear things (like) ‘Just get a job at the private store,’ what type of pay are we going to get there? How are we going to pay these bills?”

The SGEU says it’s working with management to get workers an enhanced severance for when the stores eventually close their doors.