Manitoba Government Interferes in Dynacare Bargaining
WINNIPEG — September 1, 2026 — Today, the Manitoba Government directly and openly inserted itself into negotiations between Dynacare and the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP), the union representing 350 laboratory professionals working at Dynacare’s 22 laboratory and health services centres in Winnipeg, Brandon, and surrounding communities.
With a strike looming, Minister of Labour and Immigration Malaya Marcelino asked the Manitoba Labour Board to review whether an essential services agreement is necessary, a move that directly interferes with negotiations and could impede Dynacare workers’ right to strike. Dynacare and MAHCP had already agreed in March 2026 that Dynacare services are not considered essential under the Labour Relations Act, and do not need to continue during a strike. Government was aware the parties consented that no essential services agreement was needed.
“These severely underpaid laboratory technicians and technologists thought the Manitoba government had their backs,” said Linklater. “Instead the NDP is siding with a private, American-owned company over the rights and interests of Manitoba workers by interfering in bargaining and threatening their Charter-protected right to strike.”
The Dynacare strike is set to begin on Tuesday, September 8 at 6 a.m. if the parties do not reach a tentative agreement before then. The union says Dynacare’s final offer, presented last Friday, does not meaningfully address the 20 to 50 per cent wage gap with public-sector laboratory workers that has grown since 2017. Dynacare ended conciliation this week after rejecting the union’s counterproposal. It is considered unlikely that Dynacare will come back to the bargaining table prior to the strike deadline now that the Manitoba government has stepped in.
Outpatient laboratory services performed by Dynacare are available at public hospitals and clinics, typically on a walk-in basis. Dynacare services have never been considered essential services under provincial legislation.
“Why would the government step in, at this late stage, when Dynacare agreed long ago that their services did not meet the criteria of ‘essential services’?” said MAHCP President Jason Linklater. “The government has a contract with Dynacare; why weren’t service continuity and fair wages for laboratory professionals addressed in that contract?”
The Manitoba Labour Board has not yet communicated dates for the government-ordered review.
-30-
Media Inquiries:
Tim Smith, Senior Advisor, Policy & Public Affairs
tim@mahcp.ca or 431-337-7787