Backlogs from Manitoba Public Insurance strike could take months to clear
CBC
As the 10-week Manitoba Public Insurance strike ends, drivers in the province can expect lengthy delays as workers try to catch up and clear backlogs.
Roughly 1,700 workers will go back to work Friday morning, with services set to resume that afternoon at 1 p.m., following the end of a strike that began on Aug. 28.
While the Crown corporation's board expects operations to be up and running quickly, it is asking people to be patient.
"Just as an example, there's 15,000 road tests that have to be rescheduled," said MPI board chair Carmen Nedohin.
That number doesn't include people who became eligible for a test during the two-month strike, and may also now be looking to book.
MPI said prior to the strike it would typically complete around 300 road tests each day across the province, and Nedohin expects road tests will be booking into next year just to catch up.
But there's also a backlog of claims.
Approximately 16,000 reported claims are currently in varying stages of the claim process, an MPI spokesperson said in an email Thursday.
That includes many related to an Aug. 24 hailstorm in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. As of Wednesday, more than 12,300 claims had been reported to MPI related to that storm. For around 3,000 of those claims, an estimate has been completed or the claim has been settled as a total loss, the Crown corporation said.
Nedohin said there will be some overtime for employees, and MPI expects to have some additional assistance to get things moving again.
To help, MPI is encouraging those who can to open new claims online through the corporation's online claim reporting form.
The public insurer also says it will be contacting people whose appointments were cancelled during the strike to reschedule, and that its website will be updated with the latest updates as it restores services.
The new contract for MPI workers provides wage increases of at least 13 per cent over four years, a Wednesday night news release from the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said.
It also includes a one-time lump sum signing bonus of $1,800 for full-time employees, which would be pro-rated for part-time employees, according to MGEU, along with two weeks' pay to recognize the stalled negotiations between the Oct. 3 provincial election and the new government being sworn in.
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