No reason given for CEO’s departure from Building Trades

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This article was published 15/06/2022 (1389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The CEO of Manitoba Building Trades has left his job and no one will explain why.

Sudhir Sandhu’s last day was June 8.

Acting executive director Tanya Palson would only say Sandhu has left and also no longer works for its affiliates Manitoba Building and Construction Trades and the Allied Hydro Council of Manitoba.

“We don’t have anything further to add,” Palson said.

“As you can imagine, this is an HR matter and we do not share current or former staff’s confidential information.”

The organization is well-positioned to continue its regular work and Sandhu’s departure hasn’t affected major initiatives, Palson said.

Sandhu could not be reached for comment.

Sandhu had been CEO of the organization since June 2014. It has 13 member unions representing more than two dozen professions in the construction industry, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Union of Operating Engineers, and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Workers.

The Allied Hydro Council is made up of 17 construction and trade unions that build hydro projects across the province.

Before being hired by MBT, Sandhu was executive director of the corporate and community services division at the RM of Wood Buffalo in Alberta.

Sandhu was the Manitoba Nurses Union’s director of labour relations from 2008 to 2011, and manager of the City of Winnipeg’s labour relations and compensation from 2006 to 2008.

He received a bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Winnipeg, a certificate in labour relations at Queen’s University, and his master of business administration at Athabasca University in 2014.

Outside the workplace, Sandhu has served as president of both the Immigrant Centre of Manitoba and the India School of Dance, Music and Theatre, and was a member of the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce’s policy and events committees.

Last year, MBT was ousted from the Manitoba Construction Sector Council in the wake of Sandhu expressing reticence about the appropriateness of micro-credential programs and the damage they might cause to apprenticeship programs.

Workers would lose long-term options for employment if they were trained to do only one specific task, Sandhu said.

“In Toronto, there may be enough home building for door hangers or framers, but we can’t afford that in Manitoba,” he said. “We need to create carpenters who have a full scope of practice.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca