Calgary Co-op changes: 75–80 full-time, 16 permanent part-time roles

By Olivia Hart

Calgary Co-op’s shift toward casual work affects 91 to 96 positions, including 75 to 80 full-time positions and 16 permanent part-time positions, according to the union representing the grocer’s employees. The changes affect front-end service clerks and gas bar supervisors, and employees receiving casual offers would lose guaranteed hours and certain benefits.

The union says the decision, which Calgary Co-op links to an operational review, left longtime employees uncertain about their livelihoods. Union president Kathy Carberry said members face upheaval, turmoil and stress because the decision arrived without warning.

Which roles are changing?

Carberry’s figures place the affected jobs in two classifications:

• Front-end service clerks, who assist customers by carrying grocery purchases to their vehicles.
• Gas bar supervisors, the second classification named in the union’s figures.

The planned restructuring removes some full-time and permanent part-time positions in favor of casual employment; Calgary Co-op describes the change as an adjustment to scheduled hours. The 16 permanent part-time positions currently provide guaranteed working hours and employee benefits; moving them to casual status would remove that security.

The change therefore affects more than staffing levels. It changes schedule status, income predictability and benefit eligibility for workers moving from permanent roles to casual work, making scheduling and internal-mobility policy as consequential as headcount.

Affected employees are being offered casual work, according to the union. Neither side has specified which benefits would end for each classification, leaving workers without a clear basis for deciding whether to accept a casual offer or seek another role.

Why are workers with disabilities disproportionately affected?

Carberry says the restructuring falls hardest on employees with disabilities. Many have worked for Calgary Co-op for decades, with seniority dating to the 1990s, when the grocer prided itself on hiring people with disabilities.

“These are the ones that are being disproportionately affected by this decision,” Carberry said. “They’re going to have a difficult time getting another job, and this has been their identity for 30 years.”

Her account points to re-employment risk after long service, rather than a generalized concern about the loss of guaranteed hours. Workers with disabilities may face greater difficulty finding comparable work elsewhere, according to the union. That makes the availability of internal transfers and the treatment of accumulated seniority central employment decisions.

The timing compounds that risk. Carberry said the announcement came as a shock shortly before the holiday season, increasing stress for affected employees and their families.

What has Calgary Co-op said?

A Calgary Co-op spokesperson said: “Following a recent review of Front End operations at Calgary Co-op, we are adjusting scheduled hours for some front end team members.” The company also said it is working with the union on how its collective agreement applies to the changes. Neither side has announced an implementation date.

Calgary Co-op is offering affected employees opportunities to transfer to other departments or locations where possible. That option could preserve employment, but the company has not released figures for transfer capacity or detailed benefit treatment.

The union formally asked Calgary Co-op to halt the planned changes, arguing that the company provided insufficient communication. Carberry criticized the lack of transparency, characterized it as shameful and asked why the company treated a decision with major livelihood consequences as a secret. The exchange therefore centers on process: notice, consultation, scheduling certainty and the terms of any transfer.

What could resolve the dispute?

Carberry also questioned whether the restructuring fits Calgary Co-op’s community-oriented reputation. She noted the grocer’s food-bank donation drive and said a large section of its employees now relies on the Calgary Food Bank because work has shifted toward fewer guaranteed hours.

She described Calgary Co-op as the city’s fourth-largest real-estate holder and asked whether dollars have taken priority over people. Those claims remain part of the union’s criticism; the company statement addresses scheduling and transfers but not the food-bank impact or the group’s real-estate ranking.

The immediate issue for affected workers is whether any move preserves hours, benefits and employment, not merely whether a job title remains. The next test is whether Calgary Co-op and the union can agree on an effective date, transfer terms and benefit arrangements as the holiday season approaches, while the union presses its request to halt the changes.