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Child and Family Services Central Support - Local 265 - Bargaining Brief
Updated: Jan 05, 2021
Approx. Number of Members: 5
Elected Bargaining Committee Members: Lynette Letexier, Gloria Neufeld
LATEST BARGAINING NEWS
On June 11, Court of Queen's Bench Justice McKelvey
ruled that the government's wage freeze law, the Public Services
Sustainability Act (Bill 28), and its actions to impede collective
bargaining with Manitoba's public sector workers are a violation of the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Overview of Bargaining So Far
Members of Child and Family Services Central Support - Local 265 had an opportunity to put forward their ideas and proposals for improving their collective agreement on February 26, 2019.
The Bargaining Committee then worked to pull together these proposals into a package to present to the employer.
At this point, the Bargaining Committee has decided to delay entering into bargaining with the employer until after the Civil Service collective agreement is negotiated.
CIVIL SERVICE NEGOTIATIONS: TIMELINE AND ISSUES
THE GOVERNMENT’S WAGE FREEZE LEGISLATION (BILL 28)
In 2017, the government announced that they would not consider giving any public service workers any general pay increase for the first two years of their new contract. So along with other Manitoba unions, the MGEU formed the Partnership to Defend Public Services to challenge the government in court they’re doing goes against Canadian laws – all workers have the right to negotiate a fair contract, including their wages.
The
trial was held over a few days in November 2019. MGEU President Michelle
Gawronsky took the stand as the 4th PDPS witness. Economists, other
labour leaders, labour relations experts, as well as several MGEU staff were
also called to testify.
All of this testimony added to the body of evidence placed before the judge,
which already includes 37 affidavits and more than 100 pages of
agreed upon facts.
In January 2020, the PDPS and the Government filed their written
arguments with the court. Final arguments were heard over three days in
February.
On
June 11, a Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled in favour of the unions,
agreeing that Bill 28 violated members' rights under the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Since then, the union has been working with MGEU lawyers to review the Judge’s 236-page ruling and
determine next steps.
As part of the trial, the parties are returning to court to pursue
additional remedies, such as damages and recovery of court costs. MGEU
lawyers are preparing for these hearings and trying to secure dates for
the fall.
On August 17, 2020, the
Pallister government announced it would be appealing the judge's decision.
THE GOVERNMENT’S REFUSAL TO APPOINT A THIRD-PARTY ARBITRATION BOARD
The Civil Service Bargaining Committee exchanged proposal packages with the employer in March 2019 and negotiations began in mid-April. Almost immediately, these negotiations were frustrated by the Province’s refusal to discuss wages and benefits and their unwillingness to be up front about whether or not they intended to table the wage mandate contained in Bill 28.
As a result, the Civil Service Bargaining
Committee felt compelled to file for arbitration, which allows an independent,
third-party panel to hear arguments from both sides, and determine a contract
settlement. The Committee strongly believes that an independent arbitration board
will provide a fair outcome, setting aside the Province’s unproclaimed
legislation. This judgement has been reinforced by recent arbitration
settlements in Manitoba’s public sector.
After filing for arbitration, the MGEU began working with legal counsel to
prepare the MGEU’s presentation on behalf of all MGEU Civil Service members.
However, in September 2019, the MGEU learned that the Minister responsible for
the Civil Service is refusing to appoint an arbitration panel. In effect, the
Minister is denying Civil Service members their legal right to arbitration.
This left the MGEU with no choice but to file an application asking the Court of Queen's Bench to order the government to appoint an arbitrator.
The
union and the Province filed written arguments on January 30, 2020 and
made their case in front of the judge on February 27, 2020.
On June 1, the
Minister responsible for the Civil Service wrote the MGEU to say it
will be take the first step in complying with the court's order to
appoint an arbitration panel. However, the Minister also said the government would be appealing the
judge's ruling in the MGEU's favour.
Despite the government’s appeal, the union is pushing ahead with preparations for the arbitration at the same time as the appeal proceeds through the courts. Both the MGEU and the employer have nominated their representatives to the Arbitration Board. The MGEU nominee is Tony Marques, a long-time labour lawyer who recently retired from the Myers law firm after decades of distinguished service. The government has appointed Rick Stevenson, former ADM of Labour Relations, as their nominee. Together, they agreed to appoint Michael Werier to be chairperson of the Board.
Dates have been set aside in June and September of 2021 for the hearing.