More than 100 term employees cut at microbiology lab

By: Free Press staff Posted: 1:06 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2025

The contracts of 140 term employees at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg were not renewed recently, while the federal government cut costs across departments, their union told the Free Press.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2025 (207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shimen Fayad, national president of the Union of Health and Environment Workers, said 65 terms were extended due to those employees holding specialized skills or performing key functions.

“Departments are not allowing term rollovers and not extending terms in most instances,” Fayad wrote in an email.

The Public Health Agency of Canada would not confirm how many term positions at the National Microbiology Laboratory were cut, citing privacy reasons. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

In January, the union estimated more than 200 term positions were at risk of being eliminated at the National Microbiology Laboratory — Canada’s highest-security lab — and the JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre in Winnipeg.

The Public Health Agency of Canada would not confirm how many term positions were cut, citing privacy reasons. Most of the microbiology lab branch’s 774 employees are based in Winnipeg.

“PHAC received time-limited funding for surge support to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency,” spokesman Mark Johnson wrote in an email. “As this temporary funding winds down, the agency is responsibly managing resources to ensure a sustainable operational footprint moving forward.”

The Canada Revenue Agency, meanwhile, is not renewing the contracts of 450 term employees, who work across the country in the appeals branch, when the 2024-25 fiscal year ends March 31.

Of those, nearly 70 work in Manitoba, spokesman Adam Blondin wrote in an email.

Blondin said the contracts are reaching their “natural conclusion.”

“Ongoing reviews of government spending are a key part of managing public finances in a prudent and responsible manner,” Blondin wrote. “We are focused on balancing current demands with the need to ensure sustainable operations moving forward.”

The cuts are happening ahead of the April 30 deadline for most Canadians to file their tax return and pay any taxes owed. CRA has said it intends to limit potential impacts during tax filing season.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca