We have offered recommendations to the Government of Manitoba to ease the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Manitoba.
MAGE (Manitoba Association of Government Engineers) President is in ongoing discussions with the government of Manitoba. On April 20, 2020, a letter was sent to Mr. Brian Ellis, Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour Relations discussing appropriate cost-saving measures.
We are cautiously supportive of voluntary reduced workweeks and working sharing solutions offered by the government. And we have encouraged the government to extend the length of the voluntary reduced workweek option. We have requested more detail about the work-sharing proposal.
We have also asked the government to consider early voluntary retirement deferred buy-outs.
All cost-saving measures must be voluntary options for MAGE members.
New measures must protect years of service, pensions and benefits without eliminating any positions. This must not be used as an opportunity to outsource the work of public servants.
We will continue to negotiate with the Manitoba government and encourage the participation of all our members as we work through the challenges that lie ahead of us.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Harald Larsen, MAGE President, hlarsen@pipsc.ca.
Published on 21 April 2020