October 20, 2017
(WINNIPEG) Today the Partnership to Defend Public Services (PDPS), representing more than 110,000 Manitoba workers, filed a notice of motion for the injunction it is seeking against the so-called Public Services Sustainability Act, passed by the Pallister government.
“The Pallister government’s law fundamentally undermines collective bargaining rights, which are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The law is unfair and it’s unconstitutional,” said Manitoba Federation of Labour President Kevin Rebeck, on behalf of the PDPS. “This is the next step in the process of challenging this law and stopping it from further infringing the collective bargaining rights of Manitoba’s dedicated public sector workers.”
The PDPS today filed evidence in the Court of Queen’s Bench supporting its request for an injunction against the Public Services Sustainability Act. The filing includes:
“Even though Manitoba’s public-sector unions were willing to come to the table with practical ideas to help reduce the deficit, the Pallister government was never serious about consulting,” said Rebeck. “They left us no choice but to challenge this unconstitutional law in the courts, on behalf of the dedicated public sector workers who deliver the services Manitoba families count on most.”
Contact: Andrew Tod, 204-953-2562 / atod@mfl.mb.ca
The Partnership to Defend Public Services represents more than 110,000 workers who are members of: AESES, CUPE, General Teamsters Local 979, IBEW 2034, IBEW 2085, IBEW 435, Operating Engineers of Manitoba Local 987, LALA, MAHCP, MGEU, MNU, MTS, PIPSC, UA Local 254, PSAC, UFCW 832, UMFA, UNIFOR, USW 7106, USW 7975, USW 8223, USW 9074, UWFA, WAPSO IFPTE Local 162, BUFA, IATSE Local 63, UBC Local 1515, PCAM, and the MFL.