Labour organizers raise voices before meeting province in court

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This article was published 28/05/2018 (2926 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Days before meeting the province in court, Manitoba labour organizers rallied on the steps of the legislature to deliver their message to the Pallister government: “no more cuts.”

About 200 people turned out to the Sunday afternoon action, which capped the Manitoba Labour Federation’s (MLF) four-day convention. For 20 minutes, attendees cheered speakers and waved flags from a panoply of unions.

The rally was, in part, a chance to build momentum as a coalition of public sector unions heads into a pivotal phase of its battle against Bill 28 — the province’s so-called Public Services Sustainability Act.

The bill, which passed the legislature last year but is not yet proclaimed as law, mandates a two-year wage freeze for new public contracts, followed by 0.75 and one per cent maximum increases in the next two years.

Last summer, a coalition of 25 labour unions filed for an injunction to block the bill, claiming it violates public sector workers’ constitutional rights to collective bargaining. The province insists the bill does not violate rights.

After nearly a year of legal build-up, the two sides will get their day in court this week. The labour coalition is set to present its case in a Tuesday hearing, with the province scheduled to argue its position the next day.

At the rally, MLF president Kevin Rebeck said the coalition is looking forward to the next phase of the fight.

“I’m eager for us to get to court,” Rebeck said.

“People have been denied the right to fair collective bargaining for too long, and employers are saying they’re fearful that when this applies, it’s retroactive.

“They don’t want to do something that will be undone. This injunction, if granted, will make it clear: go ahead and bargain, that should not be an impediment to a real bargain.”