Metro raked in huge profits while denying striking workers pay increase

While the buzzed-about Metro strike of this summer is over, the grocery store corporation has just released its fiscal results for the walkout period — and, as has been the case with all the players in Canada's oligopoly lately, its profits were shocking.

According to the numbers from the fourth quarter ending on September 30, Metro's sales jumped 14.4 per cent from the same time last year, and earnings spiked a whopping 31.7 per cent, amounting to $222.2 million more than Q4 2022.

For 2023 as a whole, the company reported a 9.7 per cent year-over-year uptick in sales, reaching an unfathomable $20.1 billion, as well as a 19.9 per cent increase in net earnings, which were just over $1 billion dollars.

Maybe it’s time for to share some of those profits with Customers and the staff that are on strike.

— Elisa Murphy (@ElisaMu73377187) August 9, 2023

The brand's president and CEO made reference to the strike action in a release about Metro's financial quarter, framing it as a nuisance of a financial hurdle that the company successfully managed to profit in spite of —  all while minimum-wage workers were demanding better pay and improved working conditions amid an affordability crisis.

"We are pleased with our fourth quarter results which were achieved in a challenging operating environment that included a five-week strike at 27 Metro stores in Ontario. For the first time in our history, sales for the year exceeded $20 billion and net earnings reached $1 billion," Eric La Flèche wrote.

He also had the guile to say that, in the face of declining (but still high) food inflation, "our teams continue to deliver the best value possible to our customers every day" — a point many customers would contend.

The work stoppage that started in August was eventually resolved with a five-year contract in which unionized employees will receive a retroactive $1.50 per hour pay raise, which will eventually add up to $4.50 an hour for full-timers and $3.20 an hour for those working part-time.