Province and MGEU reach tentative agreement, details not released

The province and the Manitoba Government Employees' Union reached a tentative agreement, Premier Greg Selinger announced in a news release on Wednesday.

The release said the deal, if ratified, would "eliminate the need for an arbitration process," which was scheduled for May.

"We want to ensure that these hard-working Manitobans are treated fairly and are glad that the collective bargaining process has led to a fair and affordable tentative agreement," said Selinger.

The agreement still needs to be ratified by 14,000 union members who work for the civil service.  

"Our folks felt that they needed to be treated with respect and be treated like everyone else in the province for the same monetary value," said MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky.

Union leadership will not recommend members vote to accept or reject the deal, she said. Instead they intend to take a neutral position. 

Gawronsky expects MGEU members to begin voting within two or three weeks.

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The agreement comes after the following groups of MGEU workers successfully completed negotiations with the province: 

• Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre security workers
• Winnipeg Regional Health Authority home care/home support workers
• Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba 
• Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries workers

Some MGEU members have been without a collective agreement since March of 2014.