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The Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 28) is unconstitutional, as it denies public sector workers their Charter rights to sit down and negotiate fair wage increases with their employer.
Winnipeg (10 June 2021) — Over the last several weeks, the Partnership to Defend Public Services, comprised of Manitoba’s public sector unions, (including the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE) and led by the Manitoba Federation of Labour, had been working to finalize arguments for the Court of Appeal hearing, which was held on June 2.
Bill 28 violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Last June, the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled in the PDPS' favour that the Bill 28 wage-freeze legislation was a violation of members’ rights to free and fair collective bargaining. However, instead of accepting the result, the government appealed the decision, and chose to waste even more time and taxpayer dollars by further drawing out this unconstitutional and disrespectful approach to negotiations with public sector employees.
The next step was for the court to conduct the Appeal hearing, where both sides were heard. The PDPS legal counsel made the case, once again, that the Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 28) is unconstitutional, as it denies public sector workers their Charter rights to sit down and negotiate fair wage increases with their employer.
It will take the court approximately 6 months to deliver its decision.