Provincial wage-freeze act struck down

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This article was published 12/06/2020 (2321 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon University faculty members will have to decide whether to reopen their contract after a judge struck down a provincial act that froze their wages.

“Let’s be blunt here. They (the Pallister government) broke the law,” Brandon University Faculty Association president Bruce Strang said Thursday.

A Manitoba judge struck down the provincial government’s attempt to freeze the wages of more than 110,000 public sector workers Thursday, calling the bill enacting the wage freeze unduly harsh and a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

See ‘Labour — Page A2

“I have concluded that the (bill) operates as a draconian measure that has inhibited and dramatically reduced the unions’ bargaining power and violates (charter) associational rights,” Queen’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey wrote.

“The (bill) has made it impossible for the plaintiffs to achieve their collective goals and limits the right to freedom of association.”

The Progressive Conservative government introduced the Public Services Sustainability Act in 2017, one year after being elected on a promise to control spending. The bill included a two-year wage freeze for each new collective agreement, followed by pay increases of 0.75 per cent in the third year and one per cent in the fourth.

Although the bill was passed by the legislature, it was never proclaimed into law and the government held out the possibility of amending it.

The public-sector unions that took the government to court said the bill was already affecting contract talks.

McKelvey agreed.

“The (bill), despite the fact that it has not been proclaimed, is effectively in force in the province of Manitoba.”

She ruled that key provisions of the bill, including the wage limits, “are invalid and of no force and effect.”

The contract ratified in October 2019 by the Brandon University board of governors contains a clause under which either side may reopen negotiations should the act be repealed by the government or declared unconstitutional by the courts.

“We’ve got to have broad consultation among our membership,” Strang said regarding the possibility of reopening the contract.

“We have to have broad consultation with our executive and figure out our way forward. It’s too early for us to be able to say for sure that we’ll immediately open the collective agreement.

“It’s certainly something that we can do now that the government’s shown to have worked in bad faith, but we have to figure out whether or not, given the province’s effective control over the budgets of universities if that’s actually in our members’ interest to reopen the (collective agreement) right now.”

A spokesman for Brandon University did not respond to a request for comment by press time Thursday.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour welcomed the ruling and said it was time for the government to get back to the bargaining table. Some workers have gone without collective agreements for more than three years.

“We can now get to the table without this shadow looming over the ability to have frank and free and fair discussions,” federation president Kevin Rebeck said.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the government was reviewing the decision and might appeal. He also said it could put additional pressure on government coffers.

“So, as before, regular labour relations and collective bargaining will continue,” reads a statement from Fielding’s office.

“Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented negative economic impacts it has caused, these create even deeper fiscal challenges for the government of Manitoba.”

» brobertson@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press