As the strike by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) employees stretches into its third week, the Manitoba Government Employees Union (MGEU) is asking for a conciliator to be brought in to end the job action.
At a news conference last week MGEU president Kyle Ross indicated a conciliator was instrumental in ending the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries strike last month and he is hopeful the same could be achieved for the 1,700 MPI employees currently on the picket lines.
“The conciliator is just an opportunity to bring in someone to facilitate conversation, and we know at MBLL, once that conversation started, we were able to resolve this very quickly,” Ross said. “We’re hopeful that this will bring up those discussions at the table, and we can get these members a fair offer to vote on and put an end to this strike.”
The main roadblock in the negotiations is wages for workers.
Calling the union’s approach “disappointing”, MPI board chair Ward Keith said the MGEU, from the beginning, has rejected an enhanced four-year collective agreement worth 17 per cent in total monetary value, as well as an offer to avoid strike action by going directly to voluntary arbitration.
The union, he added, is demanding almost double the settlement pattern established across the provincial sector.
“Conciliation is not required to end this strike – that could happen tomorrow without any risk to our employees,” Keith said in a statement. “But we’re still open to exploring conciliation with MGEU if we’re on the same page. Obviously, we won’t resolve the impasse over general wage increases, but a conciliator can help us streamline the arbitration on that issue, and we can discuss other issues to narrow the overall dispute.”
From the union’s perspective, arbitration takes away it members’ “democratic rights” and Ross would rather hammer out a deal at the negotiating table.
“Arbitration is an imposed deal, and we would rather have an opportunity for our members to vote on a deal,” he said.
Striking employees include estimators, adjusters, call centre workers and service centre representatives.
“No one wants the strike to end more than MPI,” Keith said. “We continue to seek the quickest and most responsible approach to resolution, so our dedicated 1,700 employees can return to their important work of delivering services that Manitobans rely on every day.”
