Land titles workers vote yes on four-year contract

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This article was published 17/11/2023 (666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Land titles workers who initially went on strike almost four months ago have agreed to a four-year contract.

The unionized workers at Teranet Manitoba, which manages land titles and personal property registry in the province, voted to accept the new deal Friday.

“Teranet Manitoba and the MGEU successfully concluded collective bargaining negotiations with a four-year agreement,” a statement from Teranet said.

“The parties recently re-engaged in mediation through the Manitoba Labour Board and worked closely at the bargaining table to negotiate revised terms of settlement. The result is a new agreement that delivers significant benefits to our team, reflecting the tireless efforts of everyone involved in the process.”

Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, said impacted workers received wage increases of 12 to 14 per cent, with a new 25-year long-service step, on top of an existing 20-year long-service step, after a difficult round of bargaining.

“In early July, all staff began refusing overtime in an effort to send a message to the employer: we will not settle for anything but a fair general wage increase,” Ross said Friday in a statement. “When the employer wouldn’t budge, the membership made the difficult decision to take strike action.

“These members really personified what solidarity is all about. They remained out there for the whole 60 days before applying for arbitration and, in the end, managed to reach a deal at the table like they’d been hoping for all along.”

The union began targeted strike action July 21, and later increased the number of staff taking part, causing Teranet to close down its in-person support and cause delays with its registry services.

Two months later, the union went to the Manitoba Labour Board for help settling the dispute. The board ordered an end to the strike Sept. 25, and two days later, regular operations resumed.

Teranet is a Toronto-based private-sector company which has an agreement with the province to handle its land title and personal property registry