WCB workers rally to highlight contract talks

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This article was published 08/11/2022 (1259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba employees say patience is wearing thin as protracted contract negotiations continue to yield unsatisfactory terms.

“We’ve reached resolutions on a few minor issues, but there’s still two large stumbling blocks, and that’s wages and the employer’s proposals to loosen the rules on contracting out,” said Rick Rennie, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1063.

On Tuesday, CUPE 1063 held a rally on the steps of the WCB building at 333 Broadway to voice displeasure with contract negotiations, which have been ongoing for more than a year.

CUPE 1063 represents some 460 WCB employees. Around 90 per cent participated in a strike mandate vote in September, and of those, 96 per cent supported a potential strike, Rennie said.

More than 100 people gathered in Winnipeg to show support, including members of fellow unions, such as Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 and Manitoba Federation of Labour.

Wab Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP, also attended the gathering, accompanied by an an assortment of NDP MLAs.

CUPE organizers stressed employees were not yet engaged in a strike and were supporting the rally on their own time.

It was a show of solidarity, demonstrating to the WCB its employees are united and willing to move ahead with strike action should the board deny them a “fair deal,” Rennie said.

“Nobody likes bargaining to go on for a long time, but in the same token, it’s better to get a good deal than a quick deal,” he said, adding negotiations have been difficult but respectful.

“Nobody is walking away from the table at this point.”

Rennie declined to offer specifics on what WCB employees were asking for, but said wage increases and job security were primary concerns.

Language put forth by the WCB in collective agreement negotiations appeared to loosen the rules surrounding private contracts, leaving employees in fear their jobs could be lost to less-qualified independent contractors, Rennie said.

“When public-sector services are contracted to private providers, that’s privatization. Why the WCB would want to do this is something you’d have to ask them. This is an organization in a very sound financial position with consistently good customer service ratings.”

The WCB responded to requests for comment regarding the rally, but would not say where it stands in terms of private contracts.

“The negotiations between the WCB and CUPE Local 1063 are ongoing and we remain committed to achieving a mutually agreeable contract… Discussions at the bargaining table continue and remain confidential,” WCB spokesperson Andrea Di Ubaldo wrote in an email.

The employees’ contract covered March 2017 to March 2021, and provided a cumulative wage increase of 1.75 per cent.

During the first two years, wages were frozen at the behest of Bill 28, controversial wage-freeze legislation passed by the Progressive Conservative government (led by then-premier Brian Pallister) but never given royal assent.

In 2020, a Court of King’s Bench judge struck down the legislation in a challenge brought forth by a group of Manitoba labour organizations. In 2021, the government won an appeal of the court decision.

Ultimately, the legislation was never proclaimed into law, but its legacy still lingers, complicating wage negotiations for many throughout the province, Kinew said during a post-rally interview.

Elsewhere Tuesday, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals finalized a deal between Dynacare and the more than 300 employees who work in its labs in Winnipeg and Brandon.

The private employees, who are responsible for much of Manitoba’s medical testing, voted in favour of a strike mandate in September, with 99 per cent support.

A new contract has been ratified and strike avoided, but the terms are not yet public. A statement officially announcing the agreement is expected later this week, a MAHCP spokesperson said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca