In the wake of the government’s speech from the Throne today, MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky said she is deeply concerned about the growing gap between the platform the Premier ran on during the election campaign and the agenda his government is now pursuing.

“Today, we were looking for a clear sign that this government was going to follow through on its commitment  to protect and invest in the public services Manitobans count on,” she said. “Instead, the Premier is now proposing to not only strip working Manitobans of their bargaining rights, but also threatening the very services that he clearly and publicly promised to protect.”

Gawronsky said she met with the Premier just a few weeks ago and he assured her that he supports fair collective bargaining, which is a constitutionally protected right in Canada.

“Yet this afternoon, his government proposed legislating against any kind of wage increases for public sector workers,” she said. “This flies in the face of fair negotiations and all Manitobans should be very concerned about the public services they value and their constitutional rights as workers.”

In Manitoba, wage increases in the private sector have outstripped public sector wages over the past decade – average weekly earnings in Manitoba increased by 32% while provincial government wages and inflation both increased by 19%.

“So as it is, those Manitobans working day in and day out to keep our families safe and supported, to keep our province going and growing, have been doing more, with less,” she said. “We’ll be heading into bargaining this year on behalf of workers who Manitobans count on every day ? college instructors teaching in-demand trades to our young people; those diagnosing serious illness; those caring for our most vulnerable elderly. Without the ability to negotiate a fair wage, it gets tougher to maintain a qualified workforce and services inevitably suffer.”

Citing a 10% vacancy rate in today’s Civil Service, Gawronsky called the government’s proposal unconstitutional and shortsighted.

“Canadians have fought hard for the constitutional right to sit down and bargain collectively with their employer free of any predetermined agenda,” she said. “And Manitobans have made it clear they want their government to build and maintain quality public services. What they’re proposing would not just break a promise to Manitobans. It would be a big step backward for all of us.”