Dynacare union sets Sept. 8 strike deadline over wage gap
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The union representing nearly 350 Dynacare lab workers in Manitoba has set a Sept. 8 strike deadline.
The move comes one week after Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
According to the union, Dynacare wages have fallen between 20 and 50 per cent behind wages in public hospital laboratories since 2017.
President Jason Linklater said the union had hoped that a 99.7 per cent strike mandate would motivate Dynacare to come back to the bargaining table with a competitive offer.
“But their actions are telling us to get ready for a strike,” he said.
“If Dynacare would rather have a strike than pay their employees market wages, then our members are prepared to fight for what they deserve.”
A Dynacare employee at the company’s laboratory and health services centre in Brandon said workers have not yet received detailed information about how job action would be carried out.
“A strike would affect operations at the local facility because this is like an extension of Dynacare as a whole, and if there’s a call for a strike, unfortunately, we wouldn’t be working here,” said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Brandon location employs 10 full-time staff and is the company’s only location west of Portage la Prairie.
The employee said workers had not been told whether a possible strike would involve all locations shutting down at once or whether a rotating or “rolling” strike could be called.
The potential disruption could be significant because Dynacare and MAHCP agreed in March, shortly after negotiations began, that its laboratory services would not be required to continue during a strike under provincial essential-services legislation, the union said in a press release Friday.
The union said it anticipates that all Dynacare laboratory and health services centres, along with the company’s main processing lab in Winnipeg, would cease operations for the duration of a strike because the facilities depend on lab technicians and technologists.
The same outpatient laboratory services offered by Dynacare are also available through public hospitals and some public clinics, according to MAHCP.
Linklater said the union is concerned that staffing challenges caused by the wage gap at Dynacare could worsen if a strike occurs.
“Dynacare is already facing staffing challenges because of their low wages, and a strike could drive even more employees away,” he said.
“It’s in everyone’s interest to avoid a strike, but Dynacare has to get back to the table with a serious offer that addresses the huge and growing wage gap, and recognizes the value of these professionals who perform millions of tests for Manitobans.”
Dynacare is a subsidiary of North Carolina-based Labcorp.
» aodutola@brandonsun.com