These are difficult times for all of us. Do you have any questions, concerns or comments? Let us know your thoughts. All questions will be answered within 24 hours of submission.
Tragedy on Manitoba Highway near Carberrry
Yesterday near Carberry, MB, Manitobans experienced a devastating highway tragedy involving people from Dauphin and surrounding area.
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It’s difficult to make sense of this tragedy, and the shock and grief this has brought to family, friends, and neighbors. We join all of you in extending our deepest sympathies for the loss of loved ones.
If you need support in the upcoming days, please reach out to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offered through Manitoba Hydro.
With Sincere Condolences,
CUPE 998 Executive
Keep Hydro Public – The Fight Against Privatization
Our President Michelle Bergen has a seat on the CUPE National Privatization & Contracting Out Committee and is working with CUPE members from across Canada on privatization and contracting issues that affect not only Manitoba but all provinces across Canada.
CUPE is continuing to work on the Keep Hydro Public campaign to fight privatization and to protect our jobs here at Manitoba Hydro.
We will keep you updated as this campaign develops.
Government Blocks September 30 Stat Holiday
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,
We are deeply disappointed that the government has decided against making the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial statutory holiday.
NDP MLA Ian Bushie had introduced a bill to make this day, also known as Orange Shirt Day in Manitoba, a stat holiday here in our province, but the government has decided it does not want to proceed.
Previously, this government had asked the Labour Management Review Committee for advice on how to mark the day in our province. I am glad to say that the LMRC was able to reach a consensus recommendation that government should take steps to ensure that the greatest number of workers possible can take part in marking the this day, as it is an important opportunity for all of us to take time and reflect on the past, as well as to think about where we want to go as a country in a spirit of reconciliation. The LMRC had proposed that the province could mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with specific legislation and rules around business closures like Remembrance Day, or it could identify the day as a statutory holiday.
In anticipation of MLA Bushie’s Orange Shirt Day bill going to legislative committee, the MFL had prepared the attached legislative submission. Sadly, given the government’s decision, I will not get the opportunity to speak to this very important bill.
I want to thank Ian Bushie and the entire Manitoba NDP team for their advocacy to mark this important day here in our province, and to ensure working people have a chance to honor survivors, their families and communities, as well as to learn more about the history and legacy of residential schools. In the words of the Honorable Murray Sinclair, it is a day “to make the country take a look at itself.”
In Solidarity,
Kevin Rebeck
President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour
Manitoba’s Minimum Wage Still Not a Living Wage
MEDIA STATEMENT
Wednesday March 22, 2023
Manitoba’s minimum wage still not a living wage
Statement by MFL President Kevin Rebeck in response to the Stefanson government’s announcement that Manitoba’s minimum wage will increase to $15.30 on October 1:
Rising prices at the grocery store and in the cost of housing are making it harder for working families to make ends meet, and these high costs are hitting low-income workers the hardest.
Today’s announcement means that our minimum wage will still fall $3 short of a living wage, which is the wage workers need to earn to meet their basic needs. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba has calculated that the living wage is $18.34 in Winnipeg. That means that even after the minimum wage increases to $15.30 in October, there will be people who work full-time but still live in poverty in Manitoba.
According to Statistics Canada data, 56 per cent of minimum wage earners are women. The majority of minimum wage earners are adults, 58 per cent of minimum wage earners work for firms that employ more than 100 people, and a majority of these minimum wage workers have worked in the same job for over a year.
It is important to remember that Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson refused to make meaningful increases to the minimum wage for six years, leaving workers who earn it poorer.
This government’s formula for minimum wage increases was put in place by Brian Pallister in 2016, starting with a base rate of $11.00 that was well below the poverty line. As a result, despite the fact that the minimum wage has been indexed to inflation since then, Manitoba’s minimum wage remains well below the poverty line and will never rise above it, unless it is significantly rebased.
The Stefanson government’s funding formula keeps people in poverty, and will never lift them out. It is an insult to basic human dignity to have Manitobans working full-time and still living in poverty.