Unions representing thousands of public-sector employees in Manitoba are taking Brian Pallister’s government to court today to fight a wage-freeze bill that they say removes employees' right to collective bargaining.
The Manitoba Federation of Labour wants a judge to rule Bill 28 as unconstitutional.
President of the Federation, Kevin Rebeck, says they are asking for a “fair process”.
“We believe Manitobans believe in a fair process,” said Rebeck. “We believe they deserve it.”
“There are 120,000 workers and their families who have been left in the lurch because the Pallister government doesn’t want to do collective bargaining,” added Rebeck.
The PC government passed Bill 28 in 2017, which mandated a two-year wage freeze for public- sector workers as new collective agreements were negotiated. After the two years, wages would increase by 0.75 per cent in year three, and 1 percent in year four.
Although the bill has been passed, it never has been proclaimed into law. Public-sector unions say that government negotiators have acted as if the bill was law, and have refused to budge on wages during negotiations.
The unions, which represent lawyers, nurses, teachers, and university faculty, all say the bill is unconstitutional. They point to the fact that the Supreme Court of Canada had previously ruled that the collective bargaining process is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The provincial government has defended the bill by citing that it’s part of their commitment to fixing finances and protecting public services in Manitoba.
Pallister’s government had tried to have the case adjourned last month after making last-minute changes to the bill, but their attempt was unsuccessful.
Central Service Minister Reg Helwer, said in a statement that the province is confident that the bill is, in fact, constitutional.
“It protects public services for all Manitobans, supports collective bargaining, and delivers on our commitment to responsibly address the fiscal challenges we inherited,” said Helwer.
He didn’t make any other comments out of respect for the judicial process.
The unions will be in court until December 5th, and then again for three days in February, to plead their case.
