By Jason Linklater, President
Between January 21 – 23, MAHCP’s Central Table members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate. Today, I can release the detailed result: 96% voted ‘yes’. That’s almost the same result we saw in April 2023, nearly two years ago – another sign that things aren’t getting better.
Even though a strike is always the last resort, taking a strike vote was the right thing to do. Allied health professionals are 10 months without a new contract, and our bargaining committee is telling us they’re not seeing the solutions and level of investment we need to bring forward a deal members can accept. Add to that, two recent MAHCP member surveys (May and December 2024) showed us that important workplace aspects have not improved. In fact, many members say staffing, workload and morale have worsened.
I want to acknowledge a powerful opinion piece in Friday’s Winnipeg Free Press bylined by Tom Brodbeck (Members can access the article on the MAHCP portal if you don’t have a Free Press subscription.) He spoke the truth about the state of our health-care system, he championed health-care professionals, and he clearly stated that government is not moving swiftly enough to stop the bleeding. This government must do everything possible to keep specialized allied health professionals before more leave.
Allied health professionals are overloaded and undervalued, and they’re facing tough challenges, all of which are leading to departures to other jurisdictions and other careers. As I’ve said frequently as of late, Manitoba can’t recruit its way out of a retention crisis.
As a labour union, MAHCP champions our members, and sometimes that means appearing antagonistic, combative and political. But our end-goal is to drive positive outcomes: to retain our specialized staff and promote investment in health-care to the benefit of all Manitobans.
A strong strike mandate and a willingness to take meaningful job action is exactly what we need to help us achieve those outcomes.