This past Saturday in the Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba’s top employers for 2011 were revealed in what has become an annual competition. According to Mediacorp Canada Inc. – the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and organizers of Manitoba’s Top Employers – this special designation recognizes Manitoba employers that lead their industries in offering good environments to work.

Every year, the employers featured on these lists use the opportunity to boast about their workplace(s) and the “goodwill” they’ve extended to their employees. But what goes missing in all of the managerial back-slapping is just how important a role the employees and their unions play in creating a respectful, positive working environment.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see people talking about good working environments and everything that goes into that. But it’s funny, we’ve seen these lists for years and they always seem to imply that the employers named are incredibly generous and well-meaning,” says MGEU President, Lois Wales. “The fact is, many of the employers on this list employ unionized workers and those benefits and working conditions were not simply given to them. They had to fight for each and every one.”

For example, the editors’ highlights for Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface lists “a variety of alternative work scheduling options… starts employees at three weeks’ vacation in addition to a week-long holiday shut down…offers employees who are new mothers maternity top-up payments (to 95% of salary for 27 weeks)… and encourages ongoing employee development with tuition subsidies” among the reasons why the Collège is a good place to work.

“If you look at it, every one of those items listed was negotiated by a bargaining committee,” says Wales. “Workers all across this country have fought for years for benefits like Defined Benefit Pension Plans and every negotiating year employers try to claw back those benefits. To imply that management alone is responsible for creating the working environment is simply false. And I’m sure if you asked employees from each of those 25 employers, everyone would say there’s always room for improvement.”

Well over half of the organizations on the list employ at least some unionized labour. The MGEU alone represents members in workplaces from seven of the top 25 (Brandon Regional Health Authority Inc., Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, Manitoba Lotteries Corporation, Red River College, St.Amant Inc., Winnipeg Regional Health Authority).

To develop Manitoba’s Top Employers list, employers were evaluated using the following eight criteria: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement.

Manitoba’s Top 25 Employers

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc.
Boeing Canada Operations Limited
Brandon Regional Health Authority Inc.
Canad Inns
Canadian Wheat Board
Cargill Limited
Ceridian Canada Ltd.
Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface
DGH Engineering Ltd.
Manitoba Blue Cross
Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba Liquor Control Commission
Manitoba Lotteries Corporation
MIG Insurance Group Inc.
Monsanto Canada Inc.
New Flyer Industries Canada ULC
Red River College
Seven Oaks General Hospital
St. John's-Ravenscourt School
St.Amant Inc.
STRATA Benefits Consulting Inc.
True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
Wardrop Engineering Inc.
Western Financial Insurance Company
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

Read the full 24-page supplement originally published by the Winnipeg Free Press on November 27, 2010.