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10 March, 2021
Dear Member;
Today IBEW 2034 issued a Press Release outlining our negotiations with Manitoba Hydro over the past 2 years. A copy of that release is included here for your information:
MANITOBA HYDRO and IBEW CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
Proposals and Counter-proposals
WINNIPEG, MB., March 10th, 2021 — Manitoba Hydro and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 2034 have reached an impasse in collective bargaining resulting in strike action. After more than 34 days of talks, negotiations have broken down.
In August, Hydro totally changed its bargaining mandate from a 4-year agreement to that of a 2-year contract expiring in December 2020. In response, the Union pared down its proposals to 19 items while the employer sought nothing but concessions from the IBEW.
The major proposals sought by the IBEW 2034 are:
• a general wage increase reflecting what other employees at Manitoba Hydro received for 2019 and 2020.
• a COVID stipend for all our front-line members who have consistently put themselves and their families at risk by being continually exposed to the public. This would be similar to what professors at the University of Manitoba and others received.
• a return of the 3 days unpaid leave forced upon members earlier this year. The cost of returning those days to the members would be approximately $2 million. This would reduce Hydro’s profit for the 3rd quarter to $109 million from $111 million, still $66 million above its projected profit of $43 million.
Since the new mandate, Hydro has offered to extend the term of the new agreement for a 3rd year but has persisted in its demand for a 0% wage increase in both 2019 ad 2020, offering only a 0.75% increase in 2021. Meanwhile, other employees have received a 1.5% increase in 2019 and 1.25% in 2020.
Manitoba Hydro has only offered things that IBEW members either currently enjoy through the existing Collective Agreement, or things that would affect only the smallest proportion of the Union’s membership. Some of these things include:
- Easter Monday holiday for shift workers and 8/6 employees, (approx. 200 members affected),
- granting shift premiums to M3T3 workers and those on modified schedules, (approx. 20 members affected),
- granting an additional 80 hrs. of sick leave for field workers (at least 30% time in the field).This additional sick leave cannot be vested, has no cash value, and is for 1year only,
- granting of 1 day (7.92 hrs.) in order to get vaccinated,
- creating a new “Lead hand” position which would affect approximately 35 out of 2300 members,
- Increasing an available fitness subsidy by $100 for 1 year,
- applying the average of the unused Health Spending allocation and applying it as a COVID carry-over for 1 year, and
- reinstating parking fees only once fees have been reinstated at 360 Portage Ave.What they fail to address is that 360 Portage employees receive a monthly subsidy for parking while all other employees don’t.This is particularly egregious when many have been working from home for months.
Manitoba Hydro has also offered the IBEW new language concerning “Contracting Out” which IBEW already has in the Collective Agreement.
While IBEW 2034 is willing to submit the determination of a final agreement to binding arbitration, Manitoba Hydro has adamantly refused to consider such a solution to the impasse.
In solidarity,
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