Canada : Youth crisis workers pushing for resolution
Front line workers who support some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable youth are walking the picket line after two years without a contract.
Twenty-eight youth crisis stabilization workers from Macdonald Youth Services
(MYS) took strike action on Aug. 2. The workers are asking for a wage increase of about $96,000 over four years, or 50 cents more an hour, a spokesperson said.
Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, said an agreement was in the works between MYS and the former NDP government to provide the organization with more funding to support the salary increase. However, Gawronsky said she hasn’t heard from the new Pallister government since its budget was passed at the end of June.
"This is to try to get us back to the table to actually achieve a collective agreement," she said. "Macdonald Youth Services is unable to get the funding through government. The previous government had committed and it passed treasury and compensation, but the provincial election interrupted our bargaining.
"The present government has not provided the funding which would enable MYS to come back to the table."
Macdonald Youth Services, which is based in Fort Rouge, offers services to children and families through foster and group care, community support services, and services for youth transitioning to adulthood.
The youth crisis stabilization workers operate the organization’s mobile crisis team, which was available 20 hours a day prior to the strike. The unit is responsible for responding to youth in crisis (suicide, threats of violence), providing onsite services, and developing treatment strategies, among other duties, according to MYS.
A job posting on the MYS website for a casual spot on the mobile crisis unit says the compensation is $13 an hour.
"Our members are feeling very disrespected, very undervalued, and the employer themselves have said to me they have been unable to achieve the funding. So the only way to get it now is to make a statement and walk out," Gawronsky said.
A spokesperson for the province said that the dispute is between the MYS and its employees and that "the former government routinely interfered in labour negotiations."
"This created uncertainty and false expectation on broader funding commitments that are unsustainable for government as a whole," the spokesperson said in a statement.
When asked when the community can expect a dialogue to reopen and a potential resolution to the dispute, the government said it would continue to monitor the situation.
"We recognize that MYS provides important services for at-risk youth and we encourage the employer and employees to continue to collaborate."
MYS said it sympathizes with its employees and that it can’t resolve the issue without funding from the province.
"Our agency enters into Service Purchase Agreements with the Province of Manitoba," Jill Sexsmith, communications specialist with MYS, said. "This agreement outlines, among other things, our salary formula, funding model and the services we are to provide on behalf of the Province of Manitoba. Without changes to the salary formula, we cannot provide our employees with the wage increase they are requesting."
Sexsmith says MYS is continuing its talks with the government.
During the strike, youth crisis stabilization services will be reduced but essential services are still available. All other programs and services, including the youth resource centre and shelter at 159 Mayfair Ave. are operational. For more information about service interruptions go to mys.ca