Citing a bargaining impasse with the province for a new collective agreement, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals said last week that its members could go on strike this Friday, March 7.
The strike notice follows a 96 per cent strike mandate approved in January by MAHCP members, who’ve been without a contract for 11 months. Contract negotiations had started in April 2024.
“A strike is the last resort for our members, but their workloads are still growing and more than 1,000 allied health positions are vacant,” said MAHCP president Jason Linklater in a Feb. 28 statement posted on the union’s website. “Allied health needs a strong and competitive contract to keep specialized professionals in Manitoba and recruit more.”
MAHCP represents paramedics and laboratory staff who work in the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority but who are employed by Shared Health.
In the event of a strike, essential service agreements will be implemented to reduce the full impact of health-care disruptions. Shared Health employees working in the IERHA are part of those agreements. Other regions of the province – Winnipeg, Churchill and Northern Health – will also see essential services maintained should MAHCP go on strike.
MAHCP said it anticipates strike action would cause significant delays and service disruptions across the province for a wide range of services including the following: non-emergent surgical procedures, non-emergent lab and diagnostic testing, including MRI, CT, Ultrasound, PET, ECHO and EEG, radiation treatments at CancerCare, therapeutic/rehabilitation services in hospital and community (e.g., physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology), patient discharge from emergency departments and medical units, home care services, non-emergent patient transports, midwifery appointments with the exception of late-term or immediate post-natal, assessment and treatment for children with disabilities, and non-crisis mental health and addictions services.
In a member survey MAHCP carried out in December 2024, almost half of respondents reported a loss of staff in 2024, as well as members saying workloads had increased and morale had declined. Allied health staffing shortages are linking to rising wait times for diagnostic services
“The Manitoba Government promised to fix health care and reset the relationship with the frontline,” said Linklater. “An allied health strike would mean this government has failed on both fronts, and it would set Manitoba back for years to come. We still hope that a strike can be avoided and we remain ready to bargain.”
Visit www.mahcp.ca for more information.
