MPI workers approve deal, end 10-week strike
About 1,700 Manitoba Public Insurance workers who have been on strike since Aug. 28 voted to accept a new contract Wednesday that includes wage increases of 13 per cent over four years.
MPI workers are set to return to work Friday.
The Manitoba Government Employees’ Union announced the overwhelming majority of workers voted in favour of the tentative agreement.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
MGEU president Kyle Ross speaks at an MPI rally at the Manitoba Legislative Building in October. The union representing 1,700 Manitoba Public Insurance workers who have been on strike since Aug. 28 voted to accept a new contract Wednesday.
“We always wanted our members to have a vote on their new contract, and today they got their opportunity to do just that,” union president Kyle Ross said in a news release Wednesday evening.
“It’s been a tough round of bargaining and strike action stretching from summer into fall, but our members stood their ground to achieve the fairness they deserved all along.”
MPI locations around the province will reopen to the public at 1 p.m. Friday with the majority of service available, according to a statement from MPI board chair Carmen Nedohin.
“I am pleased that we have been able to resolve the labour dispute with an agreement that is both fair for employees and responsible to our ratepayers,” Nedohin said.
“This has been a difficult time for MPI employees and our customers. I look forward to working with leadership to rebuild the culture of the organization while we restore services for communities across the province.”
More to come.
