New contract gives Manitoba health-care workers retroactive raises, signing bonus

WINNIPEG — Some 18,000 health-care support workers in Manitoba have ratified a new collective agreement that includes pay raises.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says its members have voted in favour of the deal reached earlier this month.

It covers workers in many areas, including the southern, northern and Winnipeg regional health authorities.

The seven-year deal is retroactive to 2017 and contains annual wage hikes that total 9.6 per cent.

The union says there is also a signing bonus, an increase in pay for people who work nights and weekends, and improvements to family sick leave.

The union says the negotiations were difficult, dating back to when the provincial government tried to impose a wage freeze on public-sector workers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23