Manitoba auto repair shops in high gear amid lengthy MPI strike

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This article was published 19/10/2023 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite bumps in the road, Manitoba auto repair shops are chugging along as strike action at Manitoba Public Insurance drags into its seventh week.

“There are some delays, but we are hoping the (MPI) people can get back to work. We miss them. We miss the adjusters, but there is not much we can do about it,” said John Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Autobody in Winnipeg.

“Can you ask for more when (MPI is) operating with maybe one-10th of the staff?”

Around 1,700 walked off the job Aug. 28, after the Manitoba Government General Employees’ Union and the Crown auto insurer failed to reach a contract agreement. Many services have been halted, delayed or limited in the weeks since, as MPI works to maintain operations with reduced staff.

The corporation’s direct repair program, which formerly included around 180 accredited shops, was temporarily expanded to include an additional 52 locations in an effort to combat the labour shortage, an MPI spokesperson said by email.

MPI is anticipated a claim-related backlog, but said it is too soon to know the overall impact. In the interim, severely damaged vehicles are being towed to repair shops, with staff connecting with customers as soon as possible, the spokesperson said.

Vernaus, whose career spans more than 50 years in the automotive industry, said the demand for repairs is higher than ever, with his shop currently booked up to five months in advance.

Damages around $4,500 can typically be handled in shop, but larger claims require approval from an MPI estimator, which slows things down, he said. At times, it takes up to 10 days before work on larger vehicles can be approved.

The repair industry was slammed with work before the strike began, owing to supply chain disruptions, an increasingly hot used-car market and wide-spread hail damage claims wrought by a violent storm days before job action began, he added.

“There are some pitfalls but we’re surviving. We are making it work,” Vernaus said of MPI. “It’s a well-oiled machine when it’s running. When it’s not running, it’s still a not-badly oiled machine.”

Autobody experts hope the strike ends soon.

“It’s impacting us in a number of ways. No. 1, obviously, you can’t get ahold of anybody (at MPI) when you want to. They have a skeleton crew on staff,” said David Mack, owner of All Star Collision & Glass in Winnipeg.

“I think it’s impacting the customer more because they don’t know what to do… it’s just very confusing right now.”

Mack said he expects backlogs to extend well after the strike ends.

The Free Press spoke with employees and management at several other repair shops in Winnipeg and nearby rural areas, with all reporting similar challenges.

“The best advice is just be patient. Your car will get fixed,” said Denis Cloutier, executive director of the Automotive Trades Association of Manitoba. “There’s just no way to fix cars faster than we already are.”

Cloutier said service providers are juggling work by focusing on large jobs and slotting in minor work wherever they can. Backlogs are difficult to predict but many shops are already looking at months-long wait lists, he added.

“We’ve all made some adjustments. MPI has made some adjustments, the collision repair shops have made adjustments,” he said. “We’ve been given more permissions and we will have discussions with MPI after the strike to see what we want to keep and what we don’t want.”

Ahead of his first cabinet meeting Thursday, new Premier Wab Kinew said the MPI strike “demands the most immediate attention,” adding he would have more to say on the matter Friday.

— with files from Carol Sanders

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca