Tentative deal reached, strike averted at 17 No Frills stores in Ontario

A tentative agreement has been reached with almost 1,300 workers at 17 No Frills grocery stores in Ontario.

Details of the agreement have not been released. A ratification vote is expected to take place in the coming days.

“Our bargaining committee at No Frills was determined to build on what grocery store workers had achieved this past summer with Metro,” said Lana Payne, National President of Unifor. “This tentative agreement delivers pattern wages and many other improvements for our members.”

No Frills is the discount grocery banner owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd., the largest grocery company in Canada. The 17 stores include five in Toronto, as well as locations in Whitby, Etobicoke, Niagara Falls and elsewhere. 

This round of bargaining is the first with a major grocery chain for Unifor since it reached a deal with Metro this summer that brought more than 3,700 workers in the Toronto area significant wage gains. 

Unifor had said the Metro deal would help it set a pattern as it bargains with major grocery chains over the next couple of years.

“No Frills workers knew that the public would have their back in their demand for their fair share of Loblaw’s enormous profits,” said Gord Currie, Unifor Local 414 President. “Workers made it very clear that they were ready to strike, if necessary, in order to achieve our necessary demands for decent work and pay.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report