'Skilled labour is not cheap,' says union leader
Bill 28 is a bad deal for Manitoba’s skilled workers, according to trade union leaders. The legislation, they claim, will result in cheap labour flooding the province.
Trade workers and union leaders gathered at a rally on Tuesday calling on the government to scrap the proposal.
Bill 28 seeks to end project labour agreements (PLAs) for public sector construction projects in Manitoba. With a PLA in place, non-unionised workers are entitled to the same protections and mandated to pay the same dues as union members.
The bill – introduced by the Pallister government – removes these preconditions for project bidders.
Labour groups led by Manitoba Building Trades (MBT) argue, however, that PLAs maintain the quality of skilled labour in the province.
“We’re here to remind Premier Pallister that skilled labour is not cheap and cheap labour is not skilled,” said Sudhir Sandhu, MBT’s chief executive. The association represents some 8,000 trade and construction workers.
“We’re loudly and clearly sending a message that publicly-funded construction projects should put Manitoba workers and communities first,” said Sandhu.
“If we’re going to spend billions of dollars building infrastructure locally, whether that’s municipalities, whether that’s the province, and we do not leverage those dollars to create employment and training opportunities for Manitoba’s workers and Manitoba’s youth, then we are falling behind other jurisdictions,” the labour leader said.
