Southeast Child and Family Services workers ratify agreement as Métis, Michif agencies continue strike

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 2:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Workers with Southeast Child and Family Services person voted successful favour of a caller corporate statement days aft 2 sister agencies deed the picket enactment calling for amended wages.

Members of Southeast CFS Local 395 person ratified a new collective statement that bumps wages up to parity with different unit doing the aforesaid enactment successful the civilian service, the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said successful a merchandise Friday.

That's 4 days aft astir 390 workers with the Métis and Michif kid and household services agencies began a strike, demanding wage parity. The union says nether the astir caller offer, yearly wages for those workers would autumn from $3,800 to $5,300 behind civil work workers by the extremity of the projected contract. They've been without a declaration since Jan. 31, 2023.

The past declaration for Southeast Child and Family Services, which provides services to 8 First Nations successful southeastern Manitoba, expired on March 31, 2022.

About 170 workers with the agency had voted in December in favour of a strike, but a tentative statement was reached Monday, earlier occupation enactment began.

MGEU president Kyle Ross said successful the union's merchandise that reaching the woody was a "long process," but it volition marque a "real difference" for workers.

The caller four-year declaration includes wage increases successful each twelvemonth of the agreement, a retention measurement astatine the apical of each wage schedule, and caller displacement and play premiums, arsenic good arsenic an summation to bereavement and household work permission and wellness days, the merchandise said.

The national volition proceed warring for a woody for Métis and Michif CFS workers, who also merit wage parity, Ross said.

About fractional of workers with the two agencies are required to proceed moving nether the indispensable services agreement.