Worker strike leads to sugar shortage on grocery shelves in parts of Canada
Baking your traditional Christmas cake or sugar cookies might be tricky this holiday season as some supermarkets are seeing a shortage of the sweet stuff.
Shoppers on the West Coast are seeing half-empty shelves due to a strike at the Vancouver-based Lantic Inc. (Rogers Sugar) sugar factory, which has led to a sugar shortage.
Daily Hive
Shelves of sugar in the baking section at a Safeway in South Surrey are starting to look bare.
“Please be advised that due to unforeseen circumstances, there is a shortage of Lantic sugar products,” reads a sign.
It states a limit of one bag per transaction on two- to 10-kilo bags of Rogers Sugar, while shoppers can purchase two one-kilogram bags of icing sugar per transaction.
Daily Hive
The issue started in late September when around 140 workers walked off the job at Lantic Inc. (Rogers Sugar).
The workers have been picketing in front of Rogers Sugar and the surrounding areas in Vancouver because, according to the BC-based Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), their employer also expects them to work through the weekend.
According to PPWC, Lantic Inc. (Rogers Sugar) workers used to work for eight hours from Monday to Friday with three shifts per day. Now, they expect them to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, at just two shifts per day.
PPWC Local 8
“We value that weekend time to be with our families and do not want to lose that,” reads a PPWC media statement.
It has been eight weeks since #PPWC Local 8 members at Lantic Inc. (Rogers Sugar) walked off the job and began picketing. We would like to thank everyone for their support and understanding. Read the update at https://t.co/HRnDRECIJx pic.twitter.com/MNHBv7PvY4
— Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) (@PPWCUnion) November 24, 2023
In an email to Daily Hive, a PPWC representative stated, “Yes, the strike is impacting the supply of sugar. White, yellow and brown sugar. I don’t believe there will be any other impact, but it is widely felt in all of the Western provinces.”
Whether or not you’ll have enough sugar to bake your holiday treats remains to be seen, but a meeting between the union and the company is scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
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