Find FreshCo Kelowna at the corner of Highway 97 and Leckie Road.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
March 03, 2023 - 4:38 PM
A Canadian supermarket giant that was ordered to payout $177,000 to more than 1,000 workers has won a partial reprieve from having to cough up the cash.
According to a Feb. 24 B.C. Labour Relations Board decision, Sobeys Capital had been ordered to pay 1,463 employees a cost of living increase as per their collective agreement.
A previous labour arbitrator ruled the grocery giant, that owns the Safeway, Freshco and IGA brands among others, owed the workers anywhere between 34 cents and $235 dollars each.
However, Sobeys appealed the decision.
In the appeal, Sobeys says it was denied a fair hearing and the original arbitrator made errors in assessing the payments.
READ MORE: ICBC employee fired over podcast loses appeal
The supermarket giant says it shouldn't have to pay out the cash until an appeal has been heard.
One of the supermarket's arguments is that more than 100 of the employees it was found to owe money to no longer work for them and if it pays the cash and then wins the appeal it will be very difficult to get its money back.
The union disputes this and points out that Sobeys made $7.5 billion in profit last year and it will be a "mere inconvenience" if it has to recover the funds.
Ultimately, the labour relations board ruled that an interest-paying trust account should be set up and the money deposited in it until the matter is resolved.
The board said it will leave it up to the union and Sobeys to decide who established the trust account until the appeal is heard.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2023