Joined by Gina McKay, Shelley Baker, president of CUPE 2153, representing members supporting Child and Family Services in Winnipeg and Eastern Manitoba, spoke to media recently to build awareness of the issues facing CUPE members.
See the CTV coverage here.
"CUPE 2153 was the target of some extreme austerity, cuts and privatization under the previous PC government", says Baker.
Winnipeg, Treaty 1 – Manitoba’s largest union is applauding the NDP government’s first budget, which should help address chronic understaffing in healthcare, childcare, municipal services, and education.
“Hiring 600 health care aides will help fill the staffing holes created by the previous government”, said Gina McKay, President of CUPE Manitoba. “We hear every day from health care support staff across Manitoba who are calling for backup, and now the help is coming”.
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.
WINNIPEG, TREATY 1 – Staff at Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad Inc. (Ndinawe) voted overwhelmingly to join CUPE, Canada’s largest union.
Ndinawe is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth in Winnipeg.
“We are very pleased to welcome the staff at Ndinawe into CUPE,” said Gina McKay, CUPE Manitoba President. “The staff at Ndinawe are known for their compassion and tireless efforts for our community’s youth, and CUPE is proud to unite with these workers to help improve their own working environment.
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.
CUPE is urgently calling on the federal government to restore funding to Welcome Place, and to stop layoffs that would leave refugee settlement services decimated in downtown Winnipeg.
More staff layoffs at Welcome Place are expected to occur on September 19th and October 1st.
Please send a letter to your MP and the Federal Minister of Immigration by using our letter tool here: Save Welcome Place.
Staff at Welcome Place (Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council) are returning to work after nearly three months being locked out by their employer.
“CUPE 2348 members at Welcome Place stood their ground and refused to accept concessions that would decimate their Collective Agreement,” says Vivienne Ho, President of CUPE Local 2348. “The actions that staff at Welcome Place took are inspiring and shows that workers will not back down when facing unacceptable attacks on their livelihoods”.
WINNIPEG – One day after locking out its workers, Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council (MIIC) / Welcome Place is claiming that services continue, and the financial demands of its employees are responsible for their financial shortfall, even though the MIIC caused employees to have pay reductions of 12.5-27.5% over the last year. MIIC continues to demand workers accept concessions on issues that will not affect their bottom line, says the Regional Director of CUPE in Manitoba.
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.
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.