Labour says Tory wage-freeze bill still sends a chill

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/05/2022 (1295 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The labour movement says the Manitoba government can’t repair the damage done by its contentious wage-freeze bill by repealing it.

“I know your government is looking to get some credit for taking steps to repeal a law you should have never passed in the first place – a law that each and every member of the PC caucus voted for, including Premier Stefanson,” Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck told a justice committee hearing Monday night.

The Public Services Sustainability Repeal Act, which was introduced in November received second reading in April and is now at the committee stage. It was drafted following court action by a coalition of public-sector unions that argued Bill 28 — the wage-freeze bill — was unconstitutional because it violated their right to collective bargaining. The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench agreed in 2020. That decision was overturned in 2021 by the Court of Appeal.

“We feel it’s time to move on,” Labour Minister Reg Helwer said Monday night in response to Rebeck’s presentation.

Rebeck said they can’t move on until the matter is settled. The coalition has asked the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the Manitoba Court of Appeal decision and settle matters of law regarding the Charter rights of workers to collective bargain.

The government has said it’s repealing the legislation and there’s no need for the high court to get involved.

“Workers deserve an answer and we should all know, can the government just do this sort of thing again?” Rebeck said in an interview Tuesday. “What they’re trying to do is convince the Supreme Court to leave it alone until it’s an issue again because we’re going to repeal it,” said Rebeck.

“If you’re really trying to reset a relationship, then don’t make that argument. Join us and say, ‘You know what? Us all understanding the rules of engagement would be good, and we’d like that clarity from the Supreme Court,” said Rebeck.

“If they’re not afraid of their position being questioned and looked at, then let’s get a clear definitive answer and the Supreme Court is where we’ll get that.”

Leaders of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees in the province and the Manitoba Nurses Union said they still feel the effects of the wage-freeze legislation as public-sector employers tried to obey it.

There are big groups of workers who are still without a contract because of the effect on bargaining from Bill 28. They include 18,000 health care support staff represented by CUPE and 6,500 allied health care professionals represented by the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals.

“By passing the legislation early in its tenure, the PC government clearly signaled to public-sector workers that the new government viewed them as nothing more than a cost to be controlled in their dogged pursuit of a balanced budget,” nurses union president Darlene Jackson told the committee. “It signaled that the government did not care about how much service or dedication these employees demonstrated. They were simply a burden to the government’s books.”

The wage-freeze act put a chill on bargaining in good faith for several years and spooked public-sector workers about the future, she said.

Helwer told the committee he appreciated the comments.

“Yes it does indeed take time to build trust and that’s what we’re working on these days,” the minister said.

Jackson said repealing the bill won’t prevent the government from introducing similar legislation down the road. “Manitoba’s nurses should not have to continue to worry about this possibility,” she told the committee.

“We deserve closure. Supporting our request for the Supreme Court to rule on this bill, should they choose to, is the path to this closure.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca