WINNIPEG – The 2022 Manitoba budget continues to put public services at risk, says CUPE Manitoba.
“Manitobans expect to see a budget that protects the public services they rely on,” says
Gina McKay, President of CUPE Manitoba. “This government continues to cut taxes for ideological reasons rather than fully supporting our schools and health care facilities.
The release of the much anticipated “Wall Report” opens the door to new forms of privatization in Manitoba Hydro through the use of Private Public Partnerships (P3s), the sale of entire divisions of our provincialpublic utility, and the introduction of private companies to generate electricity in Manitoba, says CUPE 998.
“Pallister’s approach to privatizing Manitoba Hydro is about taking one slice at a time,” says Michelle Bergen, President of CUPE 998.
Winnipeg – Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is playing smoke and mirrors with the public, and is using the COVID-19 pandemic to justify his agenda of public sector cuts, says CUPE 998 President Michelle Bergen representing clerical and technical staff at Manitoba Hydro.
“The half-truths and disinformation coming out of the Premier’s mouth show a deep lack of leadership, and need to be addressed,” says Bergen in response to Pallister’s media conference today.
WINNIPEG – Unions representing Manitoba Hydro workers across the province are outraged that the Premier is putting the safety and reliability of public energy at risk by forcing mass, unjustified job cuts.
AMHSSE, CUPE, IBEW and Unifor have been in talks with Manitoba Hydro. Government demanded huge cuts from public bodies, and Hydro plans to move ahead with up to 700 layoffs to meet the target.
Last week, with extremely short notice, CUPE was advised by the Pallister government about their desire to reduce the cost of so-called “non-essential” public sector workforce by 10-30 per cent. Unions and employers were initially informed about the plan through a provincial news release.
The workforce reduction will not apply to essential workers in areas like health care, child care, K-12 teaching and certain other public services and utilities – but it is alarming news from our government in the midst of the crisis of our generation.
MANITOBA – The Union that represents staff at the Workers Compensation Board is joining the call for presumptive coverage for workers who contract COVID-19 on the job.
“As the staff who deal with WCB claims every day, we want to do our part in supporting the front-line heroes who are fighting COVID-19,” said Dennis Kshyk, President of CUPE Local 1063 representing 500 staff at WCB.
WINNIPEG – The 2020 Manitoba budget does little to ensure the public health funding that will be
needed to properly contain the coronavirus now, and in the future – says CUPE Manitoba, the
province’s largest union.
“Public Health should be getting a huge cash infusion to staff up for public health task forces,
immunization clinics, and ensuring enforcement of quarantine: instead this government is cutting
public health during a time of its most dire need,” says Abe Araya, President of CUPE Manitoba.
The CUPE Manitoba Annual Convention scheduled for April 15-17, 2020, will be postponed to a later date.
Out of an abundance of caution related to the COVID-19 pandemic, CUPE Manitoba will not be holding our annual convention until the pandemic has subsided, or until health authorities recommend such gatherings can take place without potentially putting participants at risk of contact with COVID-19.
BRANDON – Delegates at the 2019 CUPE Manitoba Convention in Brandon elected Abe Araya as President of the province’s largest union. Abe Araya comes from CUPE Local 110, representing custodians, maintenance, and painters at the Winnipeg School Division.
“Our union is focused on fighting back against cuts to health care, education, social services, and privatization,” said Araya.
On October 7th the Pallister government introduced Bill 2, an amendment to the current Public Services Sustainability Act, commonly known as the “wage freeze” Bill.
The government continues to limit wage increases through legislation, as well as other monetary items that would otherwise be negotiated through free collective bargaining.
“This legislation continues to interfere in free collective bargaining, by legislating wage limits, rather than allowing employers and workers to negotiate”, says Gord Delbridge, President of CUPE Manitoba, the province’s largest union and partner in the multi-union group currently challenging the government in court.