WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Progressive Conservative government is moving ahead with their plan to build new schools using an unaccountable, costly, and problematic model, says CUPE Manitoba.
“The Stefanson Government is making a big mistake by building nine new schools under the public-private partnership (P3) model,” said Gina McKay, President of CUPE Manitoba.
WINNIPEG, TREATY 1 – Today Minister of Education, Wayne Ewasko, and Minister of Consumer Protection and Government Services, James Teitsma, announced that they will be building new schools under the Public-Private Partnership (P3) model.
“This government tried P3 schools before but cancelled them because they realised building schools the traditional way would cost less and get done faster,” said
Gina McKay, President of CUPE Manitoba.
CUPE Manitoba President Gina McKay offers the following response to today’s Manitoba Throne Speech:
Today’s Throne Speech was a disappointment. Not only did the government fail to introduce the concrete measures that are needed to improve health care, they are making things worse by prioritizing the privatization of Manitoba’s public services.
The government wants to convince Manitobans that by expanding private delivery of diagnostic testing and surgeries that they can speed up wait times, but this simply isn’t true.
Staff at the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) held an information rally on Tuesday, mobilizing against contracting out and calling for a fair deal in the workplace.
“We want the WCB to know that staff are not willing to see their jobs devalued or contracted out,” explained Rick Rennie, President of CUPE Local 1063.
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 – A new poll from Probe Research, commissioned by CUPE, has found that two thirds of Manitobans would want the government or non-profit agencies to take over at least some privately operated personal care homes in the province, with nearly 40% saying *all* private personal care homes should become public or non-profit.
If the government plans to do to education, what they did to health care, then Manitoba is in really big trouble, says CUPE Manitoba representing 36,000 workers in the province.
“The province’s ongoing health reforms led to worker fatigue and staff shortages before the pandemic started, and now those issues have become even worse,” says Abe Araya, President of CUPE Manitoba.
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.
The Manitoba Throne Speech offers little reassurance that the provincial government will support public education and child care, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
“With the elimination of the education property tax, we are concerned that the government will resort to school cuts, especially under the auspices of the K-12 review,” said Abe Araya, President of Manitoba.