Workers represented by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) are officially on strike today, after a two-week strike notice expired without a collective agreement in place. The job action affects Child and Family Services (CFS) offices across the province, including Portage la Prairie, where families are serviced locally through an office that opened in May 2019.
MGEU President Kyle Ross says the union exhausted efforts at the bargaining table and was left with no alternative.
"We’ve had not a whole lot of success at the bargaining table, so we most recently issued strike notice. We've given two weeks' notice that, provided we don't get a collective agreement... then we'll take the unfortunate step of taking job action."
Three CFS groups previously voted in favour of strike action, citing ongoing wage disparity between workers outside the provincial civil service and those within it.
Essential services remain, but delays expected
While essential services will continue, Ross warns that families seeking support could experience longer wait times and difficulties reaching caseworkers.
Workers are frustrated, he says, as they remain deeply committed to the families they serve but have been put in a challenging position by stalled negotiations.
Wage parity at the centre of dispute
Ross says the core issue is fair pay. CFS staff working for private agencies earn less than government employees doing equivalent work—a gap the union says threatens recruitment and retention in communities like Portage.
"If workers in Portage la Prairie are paid less, they will go work in Winnipeg to do that same work... Our goal is just to keep the wages at parity to ensure these groups are able to recruit and retain the workers they need."
Ross says the union remains open to talks and is ready to return to the table if employers are willing to negotiate a fair deal.