Workers with Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, property registry vote 'overwhelmingly' in favour of strike

Two groups of provincial workers have rejected contract offers from the Manitoba government and voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of a strike mandate, their union says. 

Staff with the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation and Teranet Manitoba, the provincial property registry, have rejected provincial deals and voted to give their Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union bargaining committee a strike mandate. 

In a statement on Thursday, MGEU president Kyle Ross suggested Premier Heather Stefanson's government refused "to make fair wage offers" to MLLC workers. Ross accused the province of not being "serious about treating their employees with respect."

Both unions are asking the Manitoba government to return to the bargaining table.

The MLLC contract expired in March 2022. That deal had the workers accepting what the union described as "provincial wage restraint mandate" of zero per cent, zero per cent, 0.75 per cent and one per cent increases over four years.

The latest offer from the province was for wage increases of 1.5 per cent, 1.75 per cent, two per cent and two per cent over the next four years. 

Ross said that deal "falls short of the rising cost of living and far short of the increases seen for other workers in both the private and public sectors."

The union represents staff who work in Liquor Marts and distribution centres.

An MLLC spokesperson confirmed employees, including some from corporate offices, rejected the latest tentative deal.

MLLC "will continue to engage with the MGEU and is prepared to return to the bargaining table as early as next week," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"We look forward to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. While negotiations are planned to continue in good faith, contingency plans are in place."

The Teranet Manitoba workers register property transactions for homeowners and businesses, including the purchase and sale of homes, cottages and other properties through Manitoba's land titles system and personal property registry, according to MGEU.

In light of inflation, they too deserve higher wages than what was last offered by the province, Ross said.

In a statement emailed Friday morning, Teranet Manitoba noted the union's bargaining committee "accepted and unanimously recommended" an offer made to the approximately 74 Teranet employees the MGEU represents across the province, but said the company "respects that members did not find the terms satisfactory."

A statement in the email attributed to general manager Claire Alford said Teranet is "committed to resolution through the collective bargaining process," and intends to return to the bargaining table in July.

In the meantime, Teranet is "prepared to activate a contingency plan to continue to provide registry services," the statement said.

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