Press Releases and Member Letter for Distribution

Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,

For months now, Manitoba’s unions have been raising the embarrassing fact that Manitoba is set to have the lowest minimum wage in the country this year.

After refusing to do anything about this, today the Stefanson government scrambled to introduce a bill that would allow the government to make a one-off increase to Manitoba’s minimum wage in light of skyrocketing inflation. The bill doesn’t specify how much the increase will be, only that it will be more than the 40 cent increase government announced just a few weeks ago, to take effect October 1.

The government has also now committed to some sort of consultation prior to setting the rate of the additional minimum wage increase this year, and we need to make it clear that anything less than a living wage is unacceptable.

Attached you’ll find a short position paper we’ve drafted on Bill 44 – The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Minimum Wage), which we’re asking to have read into the official record in the Legislature tomorrow. If affiliates are interested in submitting supporting messages in favour of a living wage for the official record, please let us know – the more voices, the better!

In Solidarity,

Kevin Rebeck
President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour
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