Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals delays strike date

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This article was published 12/06/2023 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thousands of allied health-care workers have postponed a June 15 strike deadline.

In a news release Monday, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals announced it is giving both the union and Shared Health (the bargaining representative for provincial health-care employers) more time to come to an agreement and avert a strike.

A new deadline was not set.

A message sent to union members (and obtained by the Free Press) said a new date will depend on how negotiations progress this week, and the earliest MAHCP could take job action is June 19.

The MAHCP, representing 6,500 heath-care employees (ranging from rural paramedics to dietitians) who have been without a contract for five years, said the decision to delay was made after a weekend of intense bargaining, including “more significant monetary advances.”

There are still a significant number of outstanding issues, both monetary and non-monetary, on the table, the union said: “We must see more progress in order to reach an agreement that serves our members and puts retention, recruitment and work-life balance first.”

In its own news release Monday, Shared Health said it had reached an agreement in principle on all major monetary issues for all 6,500 professional, technical and paramedical sector employees within Shared Health, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (which includes Churchill) and Northern Health Region.

“This builds on the earlier agreement in principle reached on May 31, concerning the parameters and approach to general wage increases,” Shared Health said.

If ratified, it will deliver compounding general wage increases for each year beginning April 1, 2018, significant retroactive pay for general wage increases “and other extensive monetary gains and improvements to support recruitment, retention, career advancement and education, and staff wellness.”

A union spokesperson said late Monday postponing the deadline doesn’t mean there won’t be a strike. Meantime, it prevented shifts from being cancelled and the legislated essential services agreement from kicking in.

The agreement negotiated describes services considered to be “essential” under provincial legislation that must be maintained during a strike. Those scheduled to work under the agreement are required to receive 72-hours notice prior to strike action (which would’ve been Monday under the initial June 15 deadline).

In a message to members, MAHCP president Jason Linklater said continuing with strike preparations “is the best way to keep the pressure on.”

More than 150 local strike captains from work sites across the province will receive training on running picket lines and more members are encouraged to sign up, the message said.

If there is a strike, those who aren’t working a shift under the essential services agreement but would normally be working are eligible for strike pay of $120 per day (to a maximum of $600 per week) if they complete at least four hours of picketing or other authorized duties supporting the strike that day.

“Why did it come to this?” said one union member, who contacted the Free Press on Monday.

“Most of our people don’t want to do this,” said the long-time employee in Winnipeg. “We care about the patients and clients, but there was no other choice after this amount of time” without a raise while the cost of living has increased dramatically.

“We don’t want to cause alarm — especially for elderly people.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca