Workers at Metro’s distribution centre in Laval are on strike against the grocery giant. After their collective agreement lapsed in mid-March, the unionized grocery employees of the Métro-Richelieu-CSN voted 97 per cent in favour of an all-out general strike, which at time of writing has been ongoing since March 30.
While the cost of groceries has increased year after year, this group of workers has risen, with the support of the truck drivers from the Mérite 1 warehouse, to fight for better pay and working conditions.
Union president Matthieu Lafontaine said that the workers are seeking more flexible working conditions, among other things the conditions for remote work, and more rigorous policies relating to outsourcing various services. Above all, they are demanding a pay increase of 20 per cent in the first year, so that they will be able to buy the groceries they sell.
Profits continue to rise
Here are a few numbers to put the struggle against Metro into context. The company’s stock price has risen 28 per cent in six years and its revenue surpassed $22 billion, an increase of 39 per cent. In just the first three months of 2026, the company’s profits have grown 12.1 per cent compared to last year—all while the company’s own figures reveal that each customer has been leaving their stores with fewer groceries.
Meanwhile, the company’s executives and shareholders are lining up their pockets. During these same last six years, shareholders have seen their dividends increase by 56 per cent. CEO Éric Laflèche increased his salary by 37 per cent in that same period, and 11 per cent last year alone.
So what kind of pay increase was offered to the workers? A below-inflation raise of 11 per cent over five years! Presently, the starting salary is about $20 an hour.
Meanwhile, Metro public relations and communications official Marie-Claude Bacon told the media about the workers’ demands: “We cannot offer terms like that, as they would not be competitive in the market,” which is pure hypocrisy. If Metro’s shareholders and higher-ups are able to line their pockets, it is precisely because they are keeping wages down.
For public groceries
While the cost of groceries have exploded and wages stagnate, grocery chains like Metro take advantage of both their employees and their customers. These parasites are free to enrich themselves because the grocery industry is highly concentrated in a few hands, giving them a monopoly.
The unionized grocery workers of Métro-Richelieu-CSN are showing the way forward, the way of class struggle. The movement must spread to other warehouses and grocery stores. A victory for the Metro workers would be a victory for the entire working class.
Food is a basic need and should be accessible to all. But under capitalism, each company’s goal is to maximize profits instead of meeting the needs of the population. To offer both affordable prices and decent salaries for workers, the grocery industry must be nationalized. A chain of public grocery stores, under the control of the workers, is necessary to end gouging at the grocery store. To achieve this, capitalism must be challenged and abolished.
