On behalf of Approximately 25,000 Manitoba health care support workers, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) reached a tentative agreement at 4:25am, Tuesday morning with employers represented by the Provincial Health Labour Relations Secretariat (PHLRS). The tentative agreement postpones a planned strike, pending the outcome of member ratification votes.
In a media release, CUPE Manitoba President Gina McKay says, “We are pleased that our bargaining committees were able to negotiate a tentative agreement that will help members keep up with the soaring cost of living and will help fix the health care staffing crisis. We look forward to sharing the details with our members.”
Details of the tentative agreement will be shared with members at information meetings to be scheduled in the near future. Members will then have an opportunity to vote on the tentative agreement in ratification votes to be scheduled soon after.
“By standing together, health care support workers have been able to achieve a tentative agreement that recognizes and respects the important work they do as part of the health care team,” said MGEU President Kyle Ross. “Support workers have earned fair wage increases – increases that will help grow Manitoba’s health care workforce.”
The tentative agreement was negotiated on behalf of the Community and Facility Support bargaining units at Shared Health Manitoba, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Southern Health (Community Support only), Prairie Mountain Health, and Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. These bargaining units include health care aides, laundry aides, housekeeping aides, trades, community health centres, dietary aides, ward clerks, and recreation coordinators at hospitals, health care centres, and personal care homes, workers in Manitoba’s Home Care program, as well as many other classifications in the health care system.
Members of these bargaining units will report for their scheduled shifts today.
