Striking Métis and Michif CFS workers demand wage parity

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This article was published 25/03/2025 (197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Workers with the Métis and Michif CFS agencies went on strike Tuesday to back their demand for wage parity with their provincial counterparts.

About 100 workers carried signs that read “Same work, same pay” outside the Métis Child, Family and Community Services building at 2000 Portage Ave. on Tuesday morning.

Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross said the workers earn less per hour than their peers in the civil service, which creates a “two-tiered” wage system for youth and family support staff.

“We want them to be equivalent. They have the same education, they do the same work, they have the same challenges with families,” he said at the picket line.

“It’s not an easy job. It should be treated as equal.”

MGEU issued a strike notice to both CFS agencies, along with Southeast Child and Family Services, on March 11. Southeast CFS reached a tentative deal Monday. Ross said that deal ensures wages are similar to the provincial standard.

Child welfare workers employed by the civil service earn from $32.96 to $46.87 per hour, while Métis CFS workers make from $31.42 to $43.56 per hour and Michif CFS earn $31.31 to $43.42 per hour.

MGEU said the Manitoba Métis Federation’s current contract offer would pay Métis CFS workers $2.06 less per hour and Michif CFS would earn $2.85 less per hour.

The civil service wage is scheduled to increase by three per cent this year, which isn’t reflected in the current offer for Métis and Michif CFS staff.

The 220 Métis CFS and 110 Michif CFS employees have worked without a contract since January 2023.

Mona Buors, who is responsible for the federation’s CFS, said the agencies don’t have the means to meet the union’s demands because provincial and federal funding doesn’t cover several aspects of their services, including prevention programs and shelter staff.

“This remains a dispute between the provincial and federal governments over who has jurisdiction and fiduciary responsibility to the Red River Métis,” she said in an email. “Until this dispute is resolved, the funding situation of the Red River Métis CFS system will remain the same.”

A family support worker who was picketing Tuesday said she’s worried about clients who will lose supervised family visits, therapy and help with children’s appointments.

“We’re the ones that support the families a lot, and to have that be diminished, you’re just taking away from the families, you’re not helping them by any means,” she said while pushing her baby in a stroller down the picket line. “It’s very sad.”

The federation, which manages both CFS services on strike, laid off 63 people days before MGEU issued its strike notice, citing budgetary issues.

Ross decried the layoffs as a “heavy-handed” bargaining tactic.

Another picketing worker said the layoffs were sudden and many, herself included, don’t know whether their jobs are safe.

“A lot of us have cried together, have been angry. We are all at a loss of words over the layoffs,” she said.

The Free Press agreed not to name the workers.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine was questioned about how the province would support families affected by the strike, during question period Tuesday afternoon.

“Local organizations are stepping in to help, but they lack the resources and tools to adequately meet the demand,” said Tory families critic Jodie Byram.

Fontaine said an essential services agreement ensures crucial services will continue as negotiations go on.

She called it “unfortunate” that unionized workers were left without a contract while the Progressive Conservatives ran the government.

“We’ve had to clean up their mess, and that’s what we’ve done in our department” she said.

She said the province has no plan to meddle in negotiations but is “at the table with real money” — namely, $11.3 million announced for CFS wages, $2.4 million of which went to the Métis and Michif agencies.

The federation has said that to prevent the 63 layoffs, it would require an additional $8 million.

When asked if she believes striking workers should receive wages equal to the civil service, Fontaine said that’s a discussion “between the union and the agencies.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca