MPI shares plan to sustain some services ahead of Monday strike

Manitoba Public Insurance says a strategy has been established to sustain some services for customers across the province in light of strike action planned by unionized workers on Monday morning.

Roughly 1,700 unionized MPI workers across the province will begin job action at 7:30 a.m. Monday since an agreement on a new contract was not reached during weekend bargaining with the Crown corporation, Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union president Kyle Ross said at a Sunday news conference.

Chair of MPI's board of directors, Ward Keith, said the public insurer has been working to put contingency plans in place to reduce the impact the strike has on customers.

Manitobans wanting to make a general inquiry or service transaction with the public insurer, such as licence renewals, new insurance policies and insurance payments, can do so through one of about 300 broker partners across the province, MPI said in a Sunday news release.

The Crown corporation's contact centre will stay open for those who need to report claims involving personal injuries, non-drivable collisions and stolen vehicles.

All other kinds of collision damage claims can be made through any MPI-accredited repair shop to receive repairs and vehicle estimates without contacting the insurer first, the release says.

That includes hail damage claims, which have more than doubled this year compared to the number of claims MPI saw on average in the past four years. The public insurer received 8,000 claims so far in 2023 – including more than 1,700 submitted following a hailstorm in Winnipeg Thursday night.

Keith said that makes the planned strike particularly disappointing.

"I'm extremely disappointed. I am satisfied that MPI officials have put a very fair offer on the table," he said.

The repair shops will be able to gather information on behalf of MPI in order to begin vehicle repairs for customers. Manitobans who have their vehicle towed to MPI's physical damage centre compound will also still be able to retrieve personal belongings.

"It was very important to us that we have a process so that customers with hail damage can immediately arrange to have those vehicles estimated," Keith said.

Ross said it will likely be challenging for MPI to keep its services up and running during the strike, especially without IT department workers, where Ross himself worked for 15 years, he said.

"It think it's gonna be impactful," said Ross.

Driver testing appointments cancelled

Personal injury claimants will continue to receive income replacement payments without disruption, MPI says. But estimating appointments have been cancelled due to the impending strike action and will be diverted to the authorized repair shops by the public insurer.

Driver testing will also be unavailable due to the strike, as all appointments are temporarily suspended, according to the release. However, contracted service providers are being sought by MPI to resume those services as soon as possible.

As well, international registration plan commercial customers whose registrations are set to expire in September will have their registrations extended to October, according to MPI.

The workers' union submitted a strike notice to MPI after rejecting the employer's latest offer last week.

The four-year proposal included a 17 per cent increase of monetary value for some employees, including two per cent annual general wage increases over four years, a one per cent market adjustment on wages for about 75 per cent of union members, and a 3.5 per cent wage jump for employees when they reach the top of their pay grades, MPI said.

The offer also included a one-time $1,800 signing bonus, equating to 2.8 per cent of the average salary and other monetary enhancements that total 1.7 per cent of the average salary, Keith said.

A proposal to go directly to arbitration on the issue of general wage increases was also part of the offer, according to the Crown corporation.

"This is real money that all but one per cent of which will flow to every single unionized employee at MPI," said Keith.

Liquor strike ends

Ross said he's disappointed the union and the Crown corporation couldn't strike a deal this weekend.

"Our members deserve fairness," he said.

Sunday's announcement came in the final hours of a vote on a new contract for approximately 1,400 Manitoba Liquor Mart employees, which closed at noon on Sunday. The four-year deal, which unionized employees voted to accept, ended more than a month of job action by the workers.