Hundreds of Métis CFS workers in Manitoba to strike if deal not reached

More than 300 workers at Métis Child, Family and Community Services (MCFCS) and Michif Child and Family Services in Manitoba will head to the picket line Tuesday if an agreement isn’t reached. Their union, the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU), issued a strike notice for March 25. The two agencies fall under the Métis Child and Family Services Authority – a non-profit organization governed by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). MGEU president Kyle Ross said workers have been without a contract since January 2023 and are asking for wage parity. “Our workers are looking to be paid the same as they’re paid in the civil service, the same as the folks who work directly for government and do the same exact work,” Ross said in a Monday interview with APTN News. “We’re looking for parity because we know if they create a two-tiered system, unfortunately those workers will go where they can be paid more.” More than 60 workers laid off The two agencies laid off 63 workers – 45 at MCFCS and 18 at Michif CFS – on March 6. The MMF cited funding budget shortfalls as the reasoning behind the layoffs. It said while Manitoba provided $2.4 million in new funding for the two agencies, $8.75 million is “needed to prevent layoffs and to increase wages.” However, Ross believes the layoffs were a tactic to persuade workers to accept a lower deal. “We’ve been at the bargaining table with them for a long time, and it’s only once we had a strike mandate that the layoffs came to fruition,” Ross said. “So, we really feel it’s a bargaining tactic.” According to the Department of Families in Manitoba, it has provided the two Métis CFS agencies with $56.9 million for 2025/26 for staffing operations. “Our government appreciates everyone working to support children in care across our province,” said Minister Nahanni Fontaine. “Since I became Minister of Families, there has been $33.4 [million] in annualized increases to the CFS system. This includes $11.3M in funding this year for agency operations across the system, with $2.4M for the Métis Authority and Métis and Michif Agencies. “We will always stand up for children in care and ensure they have the supports they need to succeed.” Strike deadline looms In a statement issued Monday, Mona Buors, the MMF minister for Métis CFS, said the agencies met with the union over the weekend to present their offers, which were rejected. She added that the amount in the province’s funding letter “does not include the $1,800 retention bonus, or the additional salary step increase for each classification, which would come out of the Agencies’ operations”, and excludes funding for shelter staff. Buors stated that until the jurisdictional dispute between federal and provincial governments is resolved, “the funding situation of the Red River Métis CFS System will remain the same”. If an agreement isn’t reached by the March 25 deadline, workers from the two agencies will head to the picket line Tuesday morning. “We’re actively working to try to avoid a strike, but there [are] essential services in place,” Ross said. “It’s not a place where we want to be and we’re actively working to try to resolve this. We’re talking, but we need the employer to come with us.” On Monday afternoon, MGEU issued a notice that the strike for Southeast CFS–an agency scheduled to strike alongside the two Métis agencies–was averted after an offer that met wage parity was received. Continue Reading