A pay dispute between Safeway and some of its Alberta employees could end with some workers returning money to the company according to their union.
In a complaint to Alberta’s Labour Relations Board, UFCW Local 401 says an arbitrator ruled in its favour on a wage increase.
That increase was for top-rated and over-scale workers. The union says that’s approximately 3,700 employees or more than half its Alberta workforce.
It says Safeway filed a judicial review and the decision was overturned to a lower pay raise.
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“They gave them a five per cent increase, now Safeway is trying to take that away,” UFCW Local 401 president Thomas Hesse said. “So employees are just like members of the public. Their wages are not keeping up with inflation.”
Now, the union says Safeway is considering having workers who received the raise pay back the difference.
The union says it’s hard to get an exact number because of different hours and wages, but claims each employee would have to repay thousands of dollars.
“The decision was overturned in part because of inaccurate and irrelevant information submitted by UFCW 401,” Sobeys, Safeway’s parent company, told Global News in a statement.
“As a result, we are acting on the outcome of the judge’s decision however we do believe there is a path forward that will meet the needs of our teammates. We want to work with Local UFCW 401, and we have made ourselves available to meet with the union, as soon as they are able to, so that we can resolve this matter together.”
Global News asked Sobeys whether or not employees will have to return wages. That question was not answered.
UFCW Local 401’s complaint asks that Safeway be ordered to withdraw their wage reduction threat.
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