Manitoba health-care support workers issue strike notice

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Peggy

Unions representing roughly 25,000 health-care support workers have issued a strike notice, alerting the province its members will walk off the job if a deal is not reached before a looming deadline.

In a news release, CUPE and MGEU said they served a formal notice to the province that a strike will begin on Oct. 8, if they cannot agree on terms of a new deal.

This comes after workers rejected a proposed tentative agreement in August, giving bargaining committees a strike mandate.

“Since that time, CUPE and MGEU teams have been working with the employers to resolve issues at the bargaining tables, but the process has not resulted in a meaningful improvement to offers to our members,” said CUPE Manitoba President Gina McKay.

Workers affected by the strike include health-care aides, laundry workers, dietary aides, ward clerks, and recreational coordinators at health-care centres and personal care homes, as well as home care workers. They work in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Shared Health, the Interlake-Eastern Health Region, the Prairie Mountain Health Region (PMH). and Southern Health-Santé Sud.

They have been without a contract since March 2024.

The main sticking point has been wages. MGEU President Kyle Ross said a lack of competitive wages has led to difficulty with worker retention and recruitment, and an over-reliance on private agencies for staff.

“We know everyone loses if we keep going down that road,” he said.

“Relying on agency staffing is not good for local economies, it’s not good for health-care workers and most importantly, it’s not good for patients and residents.”

CUPE and MGEU say their bargaining committees are ready to return to negotiations to try and reach a settlement before the Oct.8 deadline. In the event of a strike, agreements have been negotiated with the employer in accordance with provincial legislation to ensure health-care services will continue.

Shared Health ‘hopeful’ agreement will be reached, preparing for all contingencies

In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, Shared Health said employers remain committed to bargaining in good faith with CUPE and MGEU.

“Since the spring, nearly two dozen bargaining sessions have occurred with the unions, resulting in offers that were taken to CUPE and MGEU membership in the summer,” a spokesperson said.

“Additional sessions have been offered and dates are in the process of being confirmed.”

They say while they remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached and a strike’s impact on health services avoided, essential service agreements are being finalized and they are preparing for all contingencies to maintain essential health services for Manitobans.

– With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre

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