האגודה הישראלית לחקר יחסי עבודה

confrontational era between the province and publicly funded employees.

Manitoba Government and General Employees Union president Michelle Gawronsky said the last time the large union experienced a strike was in 1996 when Gary Filmon's Progressive Conservatives were in power.

"We know that this could be the beginning of a very long trend," Gawronsky said. "Twenty years ago today I was on a picket line and I am back on a picket line and it was the same government then as it is today. Shame on them."

The 26 MacDonald Youth Services workers are seeking two per cent annual wage increases over four years. They've been without a contract since April 1, 2014.

The MGEU is currently negotiating several other contracts, one involving more than 450 health-care workers employed by the Interlake Eastern Regional Health Authority. The emergency medical services and technical support staff have also been without a contract for more than two years. They recently voted in favour of a strike to back contract demands but have not set a date.

Public-sector unions are nervous about what lies ahead as they negotiate with the new government, Gawronsky said Tuesday. "Labour is concerned about where we’re going to be going and how much respect will the workers in this province actually be afforded by this government."

David Camfield, a University of Manitoba labour studies professor, said under the NDP, the province generally avoided conflict with public-sector workers, although it did drive harder bargains with unions in recent years.

Although the Pallister government's first budget did not rein in spending, that's expected to change next year after a value-for-money audit of government services is completed, he said.

"I think there’s certainly going to be changes to how bargaining happens in the public sector under this government," Camfield said.

Wage increases will likely be hard to come by for public sector-unions, but that may be the least of their problems if the PCs look to contract out certain services, for example, he said.

Several longstanding contracts affecting publicly funded workers were left unsettled when the previous government fell, including the one covering MacDonald Youth Services crisis workers. MYS management has said it is sympathetic to the workers' demands, but it has not received a funding increase from the province since 2013 and has no financial room to manoeuvre.

The MGEU said it would cost less than $100,000 over four years to pay for the wage increases staff are seeking. The union said the increases are in line with what other government and government-funded workers have received in recent years.

Workers picketing outside MacDonald Youth Services headquarters on Portage Avenue Tuesday were joined by supporters from other unions and labour organizations.

There is no sign that the dispute will be resolved anytime soon. The PCs blasted the former NDP government last week for interfering in labour negotiations and creating "false expectations" about provincial funding.

"We recognize that MYS provides important services for at-risk youth and we encourage the employer and employees to continue to collaborate," a spokesman for the government said in an email Tuesday.

The union and MYS have signed an essential-services agreement that allows for limited telephone intake and counselling services. Only one mobile crisis team will operate daily from 4 p.m. to midnight. Normally, three mobile crisis teams are available 20 hours a day.

The MGEU says in 2015, MYS mobile crisis teams made nearly 1,500 visits to help families deal with a young person struggling with self-harm, at-risk behaviours, mental-health issues and parent-child conflict. The average age of youth seeking help is 13.

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