\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Free](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4609771_web1_IMG_4712.jpeg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
Free Press file photo<\/p>\n
Striking Dynacare employees have been declared \u201cessential workers\u201d by the Manitoba Labour Board.<\/p>\n
Dynacare had that kind of essential employee agreement with its staff and union \u2014 the company and the union had agreed the employees were not essential.<\/p>\n
But, when Dynacare employees went on strike in September, the province\u2019s labour minister used a clause in the new legislation to ask the Manitoba Labour Board to set aside the existing essential workers\u2019 agreement \u2014 something the labour minister can now do in any strike situation. On Oct. 1, the labour board agreed with the minister, saying essential services \u201cmust be maintained in the event of job action involving Dynacare and the (Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals) in order to prevent a threat to the health, safety and welfare of residents of Manitoba.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are definitely reasons why Dynacare employees should be deemed to be essential.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, people depend on the private company to provide critical medical testing \u2014 and with 5,600 patients a day getting tests at Dynacare, it\u2019s work that could not be picked up by Shared Health labs.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s a missing piece. The problem is that taking away the right for employees to strike takes away the strongest bargaining chip unionized employees have \u2014 and it\u2019s not a decision that should be taken lightly.<\/p>\n
To make matters more complex, the government which intervened to effectively halt the strike action is also the government that holds a contract with for-profit Dynacare to provide health-testing services. That\u2019s something you could call a clear conflict of interest.<\/p>\n
There is normally a trade-off when employees are held to be essential \u2014 in exchange for losing the right to strike, unionized employees gain the right to go to arbitration, often binding arbitration, when their demands and those of their employers reach a stalemate.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg firefighters, police officers and paramedics, for example, are clearly essential employees \u2014 and their contracts specify arbitration will occur when a bargaining impasse occurs.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Wrap<\/p>\n
Weekday Evenings<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s must-read stories and a roundup of the day\u2019s headlines, delivered every evening.<\/p>\n