Nearly 100 unionized grocery store workers in the western half of Montreal Island yesterday became the first of 2,000 Loblaw Cos. Ltd. part-time employees across Quebec to be given full-time status as part of the supermarket giant's business strategy.

"As our colleagues are our best asset to constantly improve service to our customers and are essential to the success of our company, we intend to increase significantly the number of regular positions throughout our stores over the next 18 months," Jocyanne Bourdeau, executive vice-president for the Quebec market, explained in a statement.

"This is good news for our colleagues, for the company and for the Quebec economy in general in this difficult period," Bourdeau added. "Stability outweighs the precariousness."

Josée Bédard, head of corporate affairs for Loblaw group subsidiary Provigo Inc., said the initiative was launched yesterday with 92 Loblaws employees in Kirkland, LaSalle, Pierrefonds, St. Laurent, Park Extension, N.D.G. and Ahuntsic.

They are all Local 500 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

The move, also affecting employees at the Loblaws chains Maxi and Maxi & Cie, will be achieved in collaboration with different unions, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD).

"This initiative will enable us to significantly increase the number of full-time positions by having to increase to 55 per cent the number of hours worked by union employees full time and this throughout our network of stores over the next 18 months," Bédard said.

There are nearly 30,000 workers in the more than 400 Provigo, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, Loblaws, L'intermarché and Axep grocery stores throughout the province.

Loblaw Companies, an affiliate of George Weston Ltd., is the largest food retailer in Canada and one of the largest distributors of general merchandise, pharmaceuticals, and products and financial services.