The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Months of negotiations ended last week when the Manitoba Liquor Commission reached a tentative three-year deal with its unionized employees. "The new contract will include improvements to wages, benefits, and contract language," said Bill Comstock, chief negotiator for the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, in a news release. The 550 Commission employees across the province had overwhelmingly supported strike action if necessary. "...this time around, fair compensation for part-time workers was probably the biggest issue for us," said Comstock. "It was one thing we had to resolve, or it was no deal." Over the last decade, the number of part-time staff expanded to the point that when bargaining last March, more than half of the entire commission workforce was part-time, according to Comstock. "This was a real problem because part-timers were being paid less for doing the same job as full-time employees," he said. Details are being mailed out to members, and voting will take place over the next several weeks.
