The Manitoba Public Insurance building in downtown Winnipeg. (CHRISD.CA FILE)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Public Insurance employees will be back on the job as early as Friday after accepting their employer’s tentative agreement.
Members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, who had been on strike since August 28, voted to accept the offer on Wednesday.
“We always wanted our members to have a vote on their new contract, and today they got their opportunity to do just that,” said MGEU president Kyle Ross. “It’s been a tough round of bargaining and strike action stretching from summer into fall, but our members stood their ground to achieve the fairness they deserved all along.”
The accepted offer includes wage increases of 13% over four years: 3% in 2022, 3% in 2023, 3.4% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025.
The deal also includes a $1,800 signing bonus, in addition to retention adjustment percentages for years three and four and two-week lump sum pay for striking workers in consideration of the government’s transition period where bargaining could not take place.
The new collective agreement covers the period from September 27, 2022 through to September 26, 2026.
MPI locations will reopen to the public at 1 p.m. on Friday with the majority of regular services available.
Watch: Justice Minister Matt Wiebe, minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance, provides an update on the end of the MPI strike:
