MGEU members at Teranet Manitoba (MGEU Locals 397/399) ratcheted up strike activities on Monday, July 31, 2023 in an effort to encourage their employer to get back to the bargaining table with a reasonable offer.
The decision to proceed with strike action was taken by Teranet’s approximately 70 employees earlier this month, with all staff refusing overtime. However, there has been no meaningful movement from the employer since then.
As a next step, all Assistant District Registrars (ADRs) and Senior Paralegals are walking off the job and picketing at 200 Graham in Winnipeg this morning. Staff who remain in Teranet offices will not be backfilling their work.
There are 12 ADRs and two Senior Paralegals in Manitoba who are responsible for property registry and a number of responsibilities related to the ownership of land under the Real Property Act, including dealing with documents like transfers of land, mortgages, caveats, liens, and judgments. The withdrawal of these services will impact all those who may be looking to buy, sell, or mortgage land or whose documents are submitted but may not be processed.
“The decision to take these members out of Teranet’s property registry offices is not a decision we ever wanted to take because we know this will affect people looking to buy and sell homes, and business owners who need these services to conduct land sales and property development,” said MGEU President Kyle Ross. “However, we have not seen movement from this employer since their last offer was overwhelmingly rejected and our members feel this step is necessary to speed up the process to get a deal so the public isn’t inconvenienced more than necessary.”
Teranet’s corporate head office is located in Toronto, while Teranet Manitoba has Land Titles Office locations in Winnipeg, Morden, Brandon, Dauphin, Neepawa, and Portage La Prairie. For the immediate future, picketing will commence at Teranet Manitoba’s Winnipeg office.
In solidarity…
Thank you to our friends at OPSEU, who represent Teranet workers in Ontario, for showing their solidarity with members of Local 397/399. We appreciate your support!