Communications

CUPE 998 continues to actively advocate for members by addressing workplace issues that impact fairness, opportunity, workload, and long-term job security. Since our last update, the union has remained engaged with leadership, workplace committees, and members across departments while continuing to enforce the collective agreement and advance member concerns.

Key areas of ongoing union work include:

Grievances and Workplace Fairness – We continue representing our members through grievances related to vacation scheduling, benefits, hiring processes, and concerns where senior qualified applicants were not selected. The union continues monitoring workplace trends and pursuing issues where collective agreement compliance is impacted.

Jurisdictional Review and Bargaining Unit Protection – The Workforce Jurisdictional Alignment Committee continues reviewing positions where duties closely align with the locals clerical, technical support, and sales-related jurisdiction. The review has identified overlap in technical support, coordination, reporting, operational, and administrative functions, raising concerns that bargaining unit work has shifted outside CUPE classifications. Ongoing work includes reviewing job descriptions, identifying classification inconsistencies, and advocating to protect and reclaim bargaining unit work.

Remote Work Advocacy – CUPE continues working with our National Office regarding the loss of a remote workday. A member survey will be distributed to gather feedback and data to support ongoing discussions with the employer and future bargaining priorities related to workplace flexibility.

Internal Hiring and Career Progression – The union remains focused on ensuring fair and transparent internal hiring practices and meaningful advancement opportunities for members. Discussions continue regarding internal competitions, promotional opportunities, reclassification reviews, mentorship, and ensuring job descriptions accurately reflect the work being performed.

Contractor Usage and Staffing Concerns – The local continues monitoring the growing use of contractors in areas traditionally performed by bargaining unit employees. The union is advocating to protect bargaining unit work, address long-term contractor reliance, preserve internal expertise, and ensure opportunities connected to projects such as SAP are made available to CUPE members where appropriate.

Efficiency Manitoba Bargaining – The bargaining team has exchanged 39 proposals with the employer based on member feedback and continues working to protect existing rights, language, and member interests throughout the merger bargaining process.

Arbitration Update – Preparation for arbitration has been completed, with documentation now provided to legal counsel ahead of proceedings scheduled for June. The local continues advocating for a fair resolution on behalf of affected members.

Your Executive team remains committed to protecting member rights, strengthening workplace fairness, and ensuring bargaining unit work and opportunities remain protected through ongoing advocacy, bargaining, grievances, and member engagement.

Today, CUPE 998 recognizes May Day — a day rooted in the fight for fairness, dignity, and respect in the workplace.

It’s a moment to reflect on the progress workers have made through solidarity and collective action, and to recognize that those gains were never handed out — they were fought for.

We also look at where we are today. Workers continue to face challenges around job security, workload, workplace change, and maintaining a healthy balance between work and life. These conversations matter, and they’re happening because members continue to speak up and stand together.

CUPE 998 remains committed to protecting the rights of our members, advocating for fair treatment, and ensuring your voices are heard at every table.

May Day is about unity. It’s about strength in numbers. And it’s about continuing the work to build better workplaces for everyone.

CUPE 998 continues to advocate for members by addressing workplace issues that directly affect fairness, opportunity, and long-term job security. Through ongoing discussions with leadership, participation in committees, and engagement with members across departments, the union has been focused on several key priorities: reviewing jurisdictional positions, strengthening internal hiring processes, supporting career progression, addressing the use of contractors, and preparing for upcoming bargaining with Efficiency Manitoba.

Reviewing Jurisdictional Positions

CUPE 998 has been actively reviewing positions and job responsibilities across the organization to ensure that work remains properly aligned with bargaining unit classifications.

As organizations evolve, job duties and operational needs often shift. The union continues to review situations where bargaining unit work may be reassigned or where responsibilities expand beyond the original scope of a position. These reviews help ensure that the work performed by members is properly recognized and classified.

This work includes:

• Reviewing job descriptions and assigned duties
• Identifying where bargaining unit work may be shifting outside established roles
• Ensuring classifications reflect the work actually being performed
• Raising concerns when jurisdictional boundaries are unclear

Protecting bargaining unit work is critical to maintaining fair compensation structures and ensuring transparency when organizational changes occur.

Internal vs. External Hiring Processes

CUPE 998 continues to monitor hiring practices to ensure that internal candidates are provided with fair and meaningful opportunities to advance within the organization.

Members have raised concerns in situations where positions move quickly to external recruitment without fully considering qualified internal applicants. The union continues to advocate for hiring processes that recognize the experience and institutional knowledge of existing employees.

Efforts in this area include:

• Reviewing hiring processes for consistency with collective agreement language
• Advocating for fair and transparent internal competitions
• Supporting members who are navigating internal postings and promotions
• Raising concerns where internal opportunities may be limited

Strong internal hiring practices help support employee morale and recognize the contributions of current staff.

Supporting Workplace Progression

Career progression remains a key issue raised by members across multiple departments. CUPE 998 continues to advocate for clearer advancement pathways and appropriate recognition when job duties evolve over time.

This work includes discussions around:

• Job progression frameworks within departments
• Reclassification reviews when responsibilities increase
• Aligning job descriptions with the actual work being performed
• Supporting professional development and mentorship opportunities

Creating clearer pathways for advancement helps ensure employees can build long-term careers within the organization while supporting workforce stability.

Addressing the Use of Contractors

CUPE 998 has also been closely monitoring the increasing use of contractors in areas where bargaining unit work has traditionally been performed by internal staff.

While contractors may be used for specialized or temporary work, concerns arise when contractor use becomes long-term or replaces roles that could be performed by permanent employees.

The union continues to raise these concerns through discussions with the employer, focusing on:

• Protecting bargaining unit work from being outsourced
• Identifying situations where long-term contractor use may indicate a need for permanent positions
• Ensuring that internal expertise and institutional knowledge remain within the workforce
• Encouraging investment in internal staffing capacity

Maintaining a strong internal workforce is essential for both operational stability and employee job security.

Bargaining with Efficiency Manitoba

CUPE 998 is also preparing for the next round of bargaining with Efficiency Manitoba.

The union’s bargaining proposals are currently being finalized, with the next step being the presentation of those proposals to the employer. This process has taken additional time due to the recent transition of AMHSSE members into the CUPE 998 jurisdiction.

As part of this transition, significant work has been undertaken to carefully review and reconcile language differences between the two existing collective agreements. Ensuring that the agreement accurately reflects the rights, protections, and working conditions of all members is an important step in building a strong and unified collective agreement moving forward.

This work has included:

• Reviewing language from both collective agreements
• Identifying areas where provisions differ
• Ensuring protections are maintained for all members
• Developing proposals that reflect the needs of the combined membership

Although this work has required additional time, it is an important step in ensuring that the bargaining proposals presented to the employer are thorough, fair, and representative of the entire bargaining unit.

Continuing the Work for Members

The work of CUPE 998 is ongoing and guided by member input. By raising workplace concerns, reviewing organizational changes, and preparing for future negotiations, the union continues to advocate for fairness, transparency, and strong career opportunities for its members.

Members are encouraged to stay engaged, share their experiences, and participate in discussions that help shape the future of their workplace. Through collaboration and advocacy, CUPE 998 will continue to work to ensure that members’ voices are heard and their work is recognized.