September 24, 2024 | Winnipeg, MB – Staff at the Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre (AHWC), represented by the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP), have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate after more than two years without a new collective agreement. The last contract expired in April 2022.

More than 50 MAHCP members at AHWC work in 25 specialized health care and social service disciplines including as nurses, counsellors, community health workers, teacher’s assistants and many more. They serve Indigenous patients and clients in more than a dozen program areas, including through a recently launched mobile primary-care clinic. In July 2024, the Manitoba Government announced a partnership with AHWC to establish “Canada’s first Indigenous-led supervised consumption site.”

“The dedicated staff at Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre have waited too long for a contract that acknowledges their value,” said MAHCP President Jason Linklater. “The next contract must address the huge and growing wage gap between AHWC staff and their public health-care system colleagues. It is already way overdue.”

MAHCP’s Bargaining Committee called for a strike vote last week after nearly a year of negotiations. The strike vote was held from Tuesday to Friday, September 17-20, with 94% voting in favour of a strike mandate. No strike deadline has been set.

The last contract between MAHCP and AHWC, effective 2018-2022, provided Pallister-era wage freezes and meagre annual increases of 0%, 0%, 0.75% and 1%.

“Most wages at AHWC have increased less than 2% since 2018 while inflation has spiked over 20%. Many staff currently earn half or less of what their peers at other hospitals, clinics and agencies are making,” said Linklater. “The overwhelming strike mandate shows they will no longer accept this glaring inequity.”

The majority of funding for AHWC comes from a combination of federal and provincial government sources.

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The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals is a union representing more 7,000 allied health professionals. Our specialized members work in more than 45 professions throughout Manitoba in labs, clinics, hospitals, long-term care and community.
For more information about MAHCP, visit www.mahcp.ca.

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