Workers at Pete's Frootique in Halifax enter third day of strike

A workers strike at Pete’s Frootique in Halifax entered its third day on Monday as the parent company of the store says they are hopeful it will be resolved quickly.

Workers at the market in downtown Halifax went on strike on Saturday, closing the business indefinitely as they argue for a fair contract with a living wage, something they’ve been seeking since they joined the union at Sobeys, which owns Pete’s Frootique, a year-and-a-half ago.

“We got paid on Friday and had we accepted the offer that Sobeys so graciously brought to the table at the last meeting, I’d currently be $4.54 richer, and I was definitely short by more than that last month,” said worker Terry Armour. “We’re not very happy about this.”

In a written statement to CTV News, Laetitia Tchatat with Sobeys said they are “disappointed by the decision SEIU Local 2 has made to cancel our scheduled conciliation meetings, and our teammates’ decision to strike” over the weekend.

Tchatat also noted that the Pete’s Frootique location in Bedford remains open.

“We have been negotiating diligently for months to reach an agreement that is fair and competitive,” Tchatat said. “We believe we could have found a path forward to ensure the store would remain open during the busy holiday season, and it is unfortunate we were not able to reach a deal.

“We are hopeful this will be resolved as quickly as possible and are ready and willing to get back to the table with the union as soon as the SEIU Local 2 leadership is ready.”

In a Monday news release, SEIU said it went on strike after a conciliator declared negotiations were at an impasse at meetings on Oct. 30.

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