Manitoba government pushing wage freeze bill through legislature as battle looms

Premier Brian Pallister said the wage freeze is needed to bring the deficit under control, and his Progressive Conservative government was elected last year to get the province’s finances in order.

“We can’t accept billion-dollar deficits any more. It’s putting our services at risk,” Pallister said.

The wage-freeze bill was introduced in March. It proposes that as each public-sector collective agreement expires, a two-year wage freeze be brought in, followed by increases of 0.75 per cent and one per cent in the third and fourth years.

Supreme Court of Canada rulings have said governments have some leeway to circumvent contract talks and impose wages if they first make serious attempts at negotiating. Pallister said his government has met and talked with union leaders, but Rebeck said the meetings were few and unproductive.

The legislature was expected to sit late into the night Thursday for final votes on the wage bill and other proposed laws.

One would reduce the number of bargaining units in the health care sector. Another would give broader powers to the provincial children’s advocate, who is currently limited to dealing with kids in government care.

Another seeks to create a new Crown agency to promote energy efficiency — a move that has been questioned by one of the government’s own backbenchers, Steven Fletcher.

Flor Marcelino, the Opposition NDP’s interim leader, said the Tory government has revealed an agenda of austerity since being elected, including plans to close some Winnipeg hospital emergency rooms and raise post-secondary tuition.

“They did very dismally, not just with working people, but with seniors, with students, with newcomers — almost everyone except the privileged few,” she said.

Legislation that would let universities and colleges raise tuition by five per cent or more each year is one of several bills being held over until the legislature resumes in October.

Thursday was Marcelino’s last day in the legislature chamber as interim leader. The party is to pick a new boss in mid-September. She took over after last year’s election loss that saw the party lose more than half its seats after 17 years in power.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Manitoba government pushing wage freeze bill through legislature as battle looms

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