The Manitoba Labour Board is set to hear the provincial government’s request to classify laboratory services provided by Dynacare workers as essential, just hours before hundreds of employees are scheduled to begin a strike over wages and working conditions.
The labour board has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on September 8 to consider the government’s request for interim relief. The union representing approximately 350 Dynacare laboratory technicians and technologists has set a strike deadline of 6 a.m. that same day.
The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP), which represents the workers, says employees are seeking wage parity with their counterparts working in public-sector laboratories operated by Shared Health. The union says Dynacare employees currently earn 20% to 50% less than comparable public-sector workers.
The dispute has intensified after bargaining between Dynacare and the union broke down. MAHCP members previously voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike mandate, with the union warning that a work stoppage could affect Dynacare’s 22 laboratory and health-services locations across Winnipeg, Brandon, Winkler and surrounding communities.
The provincial government says its intervention is driven by concerns about the potential impact of a strike on Manitoba’s health-care system. Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino has asked the board to determine whether Dynacare services should be considered essential and whether an interim order should require services to continue during the labour dispute.
Government officials have pointed to the large volume of outpatient testing performed by Dynacare. The company processes millions of laboratory tests and blood collections each year, supporting the diagnosis and management of conditions including diabetes, kidney disease, infections, cancer and cardiovascular problems.
Health officials have also warned that Manitoba’s hospital-based laboratories do not have enough capacity to absorb all of the outpatient testing normally handled by Dynacare if workers walk off the job. Shared Health officials said hospital laboratories are already operating at full capacity.
The union, however, has criticized the government’s decision to seek an essential-services order at this stage of the dispute. MAHCP president Jason Linklater said the move could reduce pressure on Dynacare to negotiate a settlement with its employees.
The two sides had previously agreed that non-emergency Dynacare laboratory services would not be considered essential in the event of a labour disruption. The province’s latest application has therefore added a new legal and political dimension to the wage dispute.
With the strike deadline approaching, the labour board’s decision could determine how much Dynacare service must remain operational if employees proceed with job action.
The dispute has placed patient care, laboratory worker wages and essential health-care services at the center of a growing labour conflict in Manitoba, with both the government and health-care stakeholders facing pressure to prevent major disruptions to medical testing.
Swifteradio.com
