Union Bug Blog

• May 24, 2022 - Don’t underestimate impact of privatization
  

  Manitoba Government Air Services provided Manitobans with a reliable, efficient and safe public service until just a few years ago, when the current provincial government began privatizing the service, despite warnings from experts. The government recently doubled down on this privatization scheme by issuing a second RFP for continued private operation. But a thorough, transparent and independent review of patient safety, flight safety and costs is what is really needed right now.

• Nov 17, 2021 - Provincial Government Austerity Holding Students and Manitoba Economy Back
  

  Since being elected in 2016, the PC government has been on a mission to shrink the size of Manitoba's public service. At a time when a strong public sector is needed more than ever to support the province’s social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the public sector appears be suffering a severe capability crisis due to understaffing and this approach is being broadly felt in all public services. The strike currently taking place at the University of Manitoba is only the most recent symptom of the government’s austerity agenda, and is making matters worse.

• Jun 09, 2021 - Manitoba's Leaky Roof and Crumbling Foundation
  

  It is now apparent to most that the provincial government has badly mismanaged Manitoba’s response to the second and third waves of the pandemic. This failure is in large part a product of Premier Pallister’s approach to governance, which is to spend as little as possible, no matter the need. This has been the case not only with respect to the pandemic, but in dealing with most matters of importance to Manitobans.

• Feb 05, 2021 - Privatizing snow-clearing contracts a big concern
  

  The Department of Infrastructure has been undergoing a full review of services to determine what should be privatized, contracted out or sold off for well over a year. Last summer, the province auctioned off numerous plow trucks and other equipment typically operated by seasonal staff hired for winter road maintenance. In Ontario, safety was compromised in the pursuit of private profits. So why is the Pallister government going down this same risky path?

• Dec 21, 2020 - Premier’s Labour Legislation Changes Yet Another Attack on Working Manitobans
  

  The Manitoba government is making amendments to labour legislation that will lead to more strikes and lockouts and prolong labour disputes in our province for years to come. Rather than supporting workers at this difficult time, the proposed changes significantly change collective bargaining rules in Manitoba and tip the scales against workers and unions.

• May 01, 2020 - Manitoba government’s austerity agenda makes it an outlier in Canada
  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the value of our public and social services, fair wages and benefits for all workers, of protecting our society's most vulnerable, and eliminating inequities. Now is the time to invest in them. But Manitoba has chosen a different path, one that makes the province an outlier in the country, and it is Manitobans who will unfortunately pay for this short-sightedness.

• Apr 24, 2020 - Now, more than ever, we must stand together
  

  We have heard from many MGEU members and I know the stress and fear that so many are feeling right now. The Premier’s proposed service cuts and workforce reduction schemes have created much uncertainty and left hard working members feeling everything from anxiety to anger.

• Apr 22, 2020 - Work Life: Austerity, the economy and COVID-19...Manitoba Government creating, not solving problems
  

  The lack of support and cuts [from the Manitoba Government] are in stark contrast to the way other provinces are responding. The Manitoba response is the opposite of what standard economic theory would suggest in a recession. Maintaining government employment and spending supports the overall “aggregate demand” for goods and services. This demand creates sales for businesses and supports jobs. Economists statistically quantify these effects with multipliers reflecting how $1 in spending in the economy leads to more than $1 in economic activity, because that spending is revenue for someone else, and in turn stimulates more spending/revenues, etc. The opposite is also true, with spending cuts having negative ripple effects throughout the economy. This is a big part of the reason the Government of Canada has come up with several programs to flow money to Canadians during this crisis.

• Feb 20, 2020 - What good is a balanced budget if you don’t have people working and paying taxes?
  

  Louise Chernetz, a concerned Manitoban, attended the MGEU information picket at the Manitoba Legislature on February 19. She was dismayed to see the lack of respect that the Premier and several key cabinet ministers showed by refusing to take an information leaflet or even slow down to acknowledge the peaceful demonstrators – including those who work at the Dauphin Correctional Centre. In response, Louise sent the following letter to the Winnipeg Free Press expressing her disappointment. Here is her letter to Premier Pallister and his government.

• Jan 31, 2020 - Together we can send the message to stop cutting services, save our rural communities
  

  After more than three difficult years, our rural communities are continuing to feel the effects of the Pallister Government’s cuts, closures and privatization schemes. But it doesn’t appear the pace of this government’s damaging cuts will be slowing any time soon.