MPI workers to hold strike vote

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This article was published 01/08/2023 (769 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another Crown corporation could face job action by its employees, with about 1,700 Manitoba Public Insurance workers set to hold a strike vote this month.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, which represents the workers, said a final contract offer contained proposed wage increases of two per cent per year over four years.

The offer fails to keep pace with rising inflation, the MGEU said in a news release.

The employees’ bargaining committee has recommended they reject the “unacceptable” proposal and give a strike mandate, the union said.

The workers have been without a contract since September 2022. They took two zero per cent increases in their last contract, the MGEU noted.

MGEU members who work at Liquor Marts have been walking picket lines amid an ongoing labour dispute. Those workers were given an identical offer by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.

The MGEU argued its members at MPI and Liquor Marts should receive annual wage hikes that are in line with the 3.3 per cent raise for Premier Heather Stefanson and other MLAs this year.

MPI presented its final offer July 27. Negotiations began in May.

“MPI believes this offer to be fair and reasonable,” spokeswoman Kari Dykes wrote in an email. “MPI has a deep appreciation for its employees and their dedication to delivering quality services, and believes the final offer reflects a balance between our commitment to our staff and our responsibility to remain financially accountable to the public.”

— Staff