Manitoba government workers suffer from high workloads, low staffing: union report

The union that represents Manitoba government workers says its members are suffering due to low staffing levels, tight budgets and the privatization of some services.

A report from the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union says the Progressive Conservative government's drive to balance the budget has led to 2,300 fewer civil servants working today than in 2015.

Wage freezes and high vacancy rates have led to low morale and challenges retaining workers, the union says.

The Tory government has talked about improving its relationship with the civil service since Heather Stefanson became premier in 2021, but little concrete action has occurred, union president Kyle Ross told a news conference.

"Put in the work to hire people, understand why we're having trouble recruiting and retaining members. There's many conversations to be had. There's many [job] competitions that aren't being filled."

Ross said the provincial civil service is no longer an employer of choice because of government mismanagement.

The report calls for higher wages to keep pace with inflation, as well as more money to enhance public services.

Under former premier Brian Pallister, the government introduced legislation to freeze public-sector wages for two years. The legislation was never enacted, but unions say government negotiators acted as though the wage freeze was in effect.

MGEU's report argues the government's "shortsighted preoccupation with cutting jobs has led to a shortage of staff, reduced planning capacity, and a loss of institution knowledge."

It says vacancy rates in many government departments range between 20 and 30 per cent.

Employee morale has declined in recent years. The number of respondents who indicated in surveys that morale has "worsened" or "worsened a lot" increased from 38 per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2022.

The union is also alleging efforts to privatize some aspects of the civil service have failed. It particularly singled out decisions to sell the Pineland Forest Nursery, which never turned into a planned hemp operation, as well as contracting out the Lifeflight air ambulance service and some highway maintenance.

Ross said the release of the report and subsequent recommendations isn't timed with the campaign for the upcoming provincial election, slated for Oct. 3.

"If our civil service was in this state with any government, we would be having these conversations," he said. 

"It's not an election issue; it's a civil service issue. It's an issue for Manitobans not getting the services they expect."

In an emailed statement to CBC, Government Services Minister James Teitsma said the size of Manitoba's core government has decreased since 2016, mostly because of not replacing employees who retire or resign, fluctuations in seasonal staffing and the shift of about 900 workers from Manitoba's Public Service to Shared Health last year.

"Our government is implementing recruitment strategies to address employment needs, focusing on key changes to advance innovation and the modernization of Manitoba's public service," Teitsma added.

"We are also filling priority vacancies to support continued direct service delivery, a data-driven workforce, succession planning and targeted outreach."

Teitsma said the public service commission is gathering feedback from its employees "to assess actions we can take to improve their engagement and to ensure they have the tools to maximize their potential."