MAHCP members at Dynacare now have a new four-year collective agreement after voting to accept a new contract.
To give as many members as possible a chance to cast their ballot, voting took place over four days (Aug. 8, 9, 11 and 15) and the contract was approved in a narrow majority.
Negotiations between the Employer and MAHCP happened in the shadow of the Pallister government’s austerity Bill 28, which calls for wage freezes for two years and very small increases in years three and four. While Dynacare is a private company, all of health care is feeling the effects of Bill 28.
MAHCP President Bob Moroz said this narrow ratification certainly indicates that members were looking for more than what the Employer was offering.
“We know that members are always hopeful that wage adjustments will at least keep up with cost of living. In a time where new funds are very scarce in Health Care, the bargaining team did manage to negotiate a number of non-monetary improvements to the collective agreement based on what members were concerned about,” added Moroz.
“It is positive that this group of our membership has the security of a new collective agreement at a time when the majority of our members continue to be working without any bargaining taking place for the foreseeable future.”
Among the gains in this new contract is improved respectful workplace language, small wage increases and a new IP protocol that would see IP days accumulated up to Dec. 31, 2018, paid out at retirement instead of lost. The members of this bargaining unit did not have the pre-retirement leave language that many of our other collective agreements have.
MAHCP is also grateful for the members of the bargaining committee for all their hard work over the past several months. Thank you Sherry Lussier, Nancy Scammell, Garrett Finck, and Maggie Smith!
Once the final document has been signed off on, it will be added to our Collective Agreements section on the mahcp.ca website.
MAHCP represents approximately 300 members at Dynacare.