Manitoba health-care support workers ratify new deal

Health-care support workers in Manitoba have officially ratified a new deal agreed to earlier this month.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, which represents over 19,000 workers in Manitoba, announced the new deal on Friday. It was officially ratified on Tuesday, according to a news release.

“Our members stuck together to get a really good deal that will help solve the healthcare staffing crises” said CUPE 500 President Gord Delbridge in a news release. “We have built an agreement that helps recruit new members and retain the ones we have.”

Workers represented by the union include health-care aides, laundry workers and homecare workers.

Wage increases in the contract include a 2.5 per cent general wage increase retroactive to April 1, followed by a 2.75 per cent increase in 2025, and three per cent increases in 2026 and 2027. On top of the general wage increases, 70 per cent of health-care workers will also get a 50 cent/hour wage increase in 2025 and 2026, and $2/hour wage increase in 2027.

CUPE said workers also get up to three more paid sick days per year, and a reduction in the number of years of service needed to get more vacation time.

The union was initially set to go on strike on Oct. 8, but reached a deal with only a few hours to spare.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union was also part of the negotiations on behalf of the workers they represent, and confirmed its members ratified the deal. MGEU represents 6,000 employees in the Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain Health regions.