During the last round of bargaining, Manitoba’s Civil Service negotiated a 2% long service step (effective October 2012) for when members reach twenty years of service.
Unfortunately, since the agreement was ratified, the government has determined that groups of MGEU members who’ve been transitioned into government from other agencies or levels of government will not have all of their years of service counted.
Instead, they’re insisting that their eligibility for the long service step ought to begin on the date their job was transitioned.
For some members who’ve worked hard at the same job, the same office, even at the very same desk, for twenty years or more, this means they'll have to continue to wait to receive the long service step.
The MGEU has filed a grievance on behalf of its members, which the government denied. The union quickly moved the issue to arbitration and earlier in April we asked members to send the Province a message about this issue.
On April 25, Stan Struthers, the Minister Responsible for the Civil Service, sent a reply to everyone who emailed or called him over the past few weeks about this issue.
In his message, he told them that it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment because the MGEU has filed a grievance on this issue and he then asked members to “deal directly with the MGEU in relation to the status of this issue.”
The message sent from Minister Struthers to members is simply a stonewalling tactic. As the Minister Responsible for the Civil Service, he has the power to deal with such issues, whether they are being grieved or not. In fact, we believe he has an obligation to deal with this issue; and he ought to do so in a manner that is fair and timely.
The government’s position is unfair to the affected members and disrespectful to the process as a whole. We need to keep the pressure on so that the Minister and his colleagues will truly turn their minds to this important issue and do the right thing.
UPDATE October 5, 2012 - Government Agrees to Long-Service Step