The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) has learned of the decision of the SAQ store employees’ union (the SEMB) to call a strike for the next 24 hours. 

Here is the official statement issued by the SAQ:  

"We would like to emphasize that we have made great progress in recent weeks and that we have reached an agreement on the entire standard-setting component.  

Last week, we began negotiations on the monetary component with the tabling of a first wage offer. A second meeting is scheduled for this Friday with the union with whom we hope to reach an agreement quickly.   

From the beginning of this negotiation, our goal has been to reach a satisfactory agreement, both for the SAQ and for our employees.  This negotiation has been going on for 21 months now and it is time for it to be settled, for the benefit of our employees and our customers.  

Our business continuity plan will be deployed to offer our customers limited access to our stores for the duration of the strike. Furthermore, we specify that today, some of our stores will open their doors. 

This morning, the complete list of stores and agencies open today will be available on SAQ.COM and we invite our customers to consult it before going to one of our stores.  

Our transactional site SAQ.COM is always accessible and functional for our customers at all times."