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4 December, 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers;
IBEW 2034 – Bargaining Update December 4/2020
As you are no doubt aware, the current round of negotiations with Manitoba Hydro have proven to be some of the most difficult in our history. The last 2 years have been nearly impossible with the Bill-28 mandate. Our Partnership to defend Public Services (PDPS) lawsuit was victorious, but the gov’t still insists on interfering with our bargaining and have newly modified its position. The recent change in government mandate essentially means taking a step back in our current bargaining process and prioritizing how to proceed with this new mandate. Effectively, negotiations have been reset and will now start over!
The current state of affairs has forced our front-line workers to deal with the curve-ball thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic. Changing schedules on our front-line staff has added additional stress to many of our workers who are unable to “work from home”. We have seen added risk to our staff who, as of November 26th, have accounted for 14 of the 33 Positive COVID-19 cases across the Corporation.
Our front-line staff have had far less flexibility than other staffing areas to deal with things like family responsibility, stress, and illness. The decreased flexibility for front-line staff has resulted in them having to deplete personal sick leave credits for quarantine, or when required to isolate because of a suspected possible exposure (a cough, or illness).
This treatment is in stark contrast to many that have had the opportunity to “work from home”, have been able to receive regular payroll, and continue to vest their sick leave credits. As a comparison in the short period from March 10th to Sept 16th, IBEW front-line staff have used, on an average of combined credits (sick + FRL + Vacation), 16.52 days per member. This represents (in only 26 weeks) the use of between 6 and 8 more days than other employee groups who were able to “work from home”.
We have lobbied the Corporation to come up with concessions to address these front-line issues. The Corporations’ position has been for us to try to get something at the bargaining table. We think these once in a lifetime issues need to be addressed NOW and should not be relegated to the negotiations process.
We have suggested several areas in which the Corporation could address some of the inequities suffered by our members. For instance, we are aware that while our front-line staff continue to keep the company rolling, many of them have to pay for parking on hydro property. Yet, there are still many staff that receive a downtown allowance of $70 bi weekly ($840/year) for travel to 360 Portage while not being required to report to that location for quite some time.
We also know that Manitoba Hydro reported $100 million in net revenue for the 2019-2020 fiscal year and is on pace for over $51 million this year. It is concerning the Corporation is unwilling to share even a small portion of its profits with its most critical partner….YOU (IBEW 2034 members). If you consider that only $2 million dollars represents a %1 increase in pay for our members, it is difficult to understand the Hydro’s logic.
You don’t have to be reminded of the 3 unpaid days off that were forced upon our membership and which resulted in a 1.25% rollback (reduction) in wages.
The government has blamed a changed environment as the driver of its new position. But that changed environment is not limited to government. If we take stock of where we are today, we know that our members, many of them front-line workers, are working under increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions brought about by staff shortages, increased workloads, stagnant salary rates, wage reductions through unpaid vacations, and all the burdensome complications brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IBEW 2034’s Bargaining Committee met on November 5th and several days since to conduct and conclude a review and re-assessment of our bargaining proposals. During that process deliberations included the new concerns arising from COVID-19 and how our changed circumstances would need to impact our bargaining demands.
The Committee prioritized items paying particular attention to the following factors:
- The number of members that would benefit from each proposal, and
- The degree of urgency involved in obtaining each particular proposal.
As a result of our deliberations, the Bargaining Committee has prioritized and developed a list of items to move forward into negotiations in the upcoming weeks.
Over the next few weeks, we will be resuming negotiations. We plan to urge (and hopefully compel) the Corporation to bring forward a fair deal. It is anticipated that the Corporation might try and test the determination of the membership and give us a low-ball Final Offer that we would be required to take back to the membership.
If and when such a Final Offer comes, I want you to consider all of the sacrifices and commitment our front-line workers have already made to the Corporation and the Province. Part of your considerations will have to include rejecting the Final Offer and giving the IBEW a Strike Mandate.
Although a Strike Mandate does not oblige the Union to engage in a work stoppage, the simple fact that our members have confirmed rejection of the offer is forceful. It puts the employer on notice and can significantly motivate the Corporation into putting in the energy and thought necessary for a fair deal to result.
A Strike Mandate is not a vote to strike. It simply gives the Bargaining Committee a mandate to call a strike in order to obtain a fair contract if an absolute impasse is reached. Most strike mandates do not result is work stoppages. In fact, receiving a strong Strike Mandate from the members usually reduces the likelihood of a strike, and encourages the employer to find an acceptable alternative to avoid such serious action.
As an example, Sask. Power started bargaining back In January 2017 and had been dealing with extremely difficult employer proposals involving, among others, initial rollbacks. Despite this, the parties were able to reach an agreement spanning 6 years and yielding a 7% increase over that time. The refusal to accept a bad deal coupled with a strong Strike Mandate from the members paid off. In Manitoba, the recent settlement of UMFA (the University of Manitoba Faculty Association) is another example of how employees refusing a bad Final Offer can pressure the employer into being more reasonable in its position.
As always, you will be kept up to date with any developments and progress in our efforts to negotiate a fair agreement for our members.
In solidarity,
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