The Government of Manitoba recently completed its Manitoba pre-budget consultations. As part of this process, MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky made a presentation in October at a community meeting, and the union just recently submitted its recommendations to the government in a document called Protecting Public Services.
The document summarizes the findings of a Viewpoints Research public opinion survey that the MGEU commissioned earlier this year. The survey was undertaken to gauge the priorities of Manitobans as the government initiated the budget consultation process.
The submission urges government to reinforce Manitoba’s strong economic performance and to defend against a weakening global and national economic environment.
“This is not the time for deep cuts and austerity measures,” says MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky. “We’re asking the government to listen to Manitobans and take a balanced, measured approach to balancing the budget so the services Manitobans value don’t suffer.”
The union’s submission also addresses the fact that MGEU members are often doing more with less in their workplaces, as departmental budgets continue to be reduced and vacancies left unfilled. The MGEU urges the government to be mindful of these pressures facing workers and to ensure Manitobans’ services are protected before rushing to balance the budget.
Rather than pursuing a path of cuts to government services, the submission concludes by providing an alternate means of increasing revenue – the implementation of a tax plan that would see higher income earners and corporations contributing more than they do currently.
Most importantly, the government is reminded of its election campaign made to Manitobans to “keep public services public.”
“Manitobans have clearly indicated that they want public services to remain public and this is what the government committed to do,” says Gawrosky. “These services cannot be sacrificed by the short-sighted pursuit of a balanced budget.”