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  February 7, 2008 Canadian HRReporter
Grocery chain introduces 2-hour shifts
Workers can't survive on $17 a day, says labour advocate
Despite a labour shortage in British Columbia, one of the province's largest grocery chains wants some of its unionized staff to work only two hours a day. The Overwaitea Food Group brought up the two-hour shift in collective bargaining with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which presents 8,500 of the chain's workers. A four hour shift allows a worker to pay for the expenses of working, such as transportation and daycare, with a little money left over, said B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair. Whereas workers earning a starting wage of $8.50 an hour would be hard pressed to make ends meet on only $17 a day with the two-hour shifts, he said. The grocery chain, which also runs Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare, also wants union members to pay part of their own benefits. The UFCW bargaining committee won't accept any concessions, especially in light of the current booming economy, said union spokesperson Andy Neufeld.
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