Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says last week's tentative deal reached with thousands healthcare support staff is good news for patients.
Set to strike last Tuesday, CUPE and MGEU bargaining teams agreed to the deal at 4:25 a.m.
"Our health care system, we need the health care aides, the home care aides, the people who were potentially going to go on strike, we need them on the front lines. I'm personally very happy because these are hard-working Manitobans. These are people that do the heavy lifting, literally, at the bedside. These are the people who do such important care for seniors in our communities, for other folks who need these healthcare services. It's just really good to hear their work is going to continue, the really important jobs that they play, is going to continue."
With the ratification process underway, the Premier was unable to speak to the terms of the deal, but the unions were fighting for better wages and working conditions for their members, which they say they have achieved in their tentative agreement.
"What I can say from the Government's perspective is, we're keeping our word," said Kinew. "We said that we would bring good wages. We said that we'd be doing more staffing, so we've already hired 300 more healthcare aides across the province in the year so far."
The Province is also looking at some of the concerns the unions brought forward, like mileage.
"A home care attendant, for example, you have to drive from house to the other and the mileage that they're getting hasn't been keeping up with inflation," explained Kinew. "We helped them a little bit with the gas tax cuts and now we're looking for other ways to help them keep pace."
Big picture, the Premier feels this new agreement is a good deal and good for the patients.