Strike at Métis, Michif child and family services agencies ends, members back to work Tuesday: MGEU

After just under two weeks in the picket lines, workers at two Métis and Michif child and family services agencies will go back to work on Tuesday, after their union says it's reached an agreement with the employer to resolve outstanding contract negotiations through arbitration.

More than 330 employees of the two agencies — the Winnipeg-area Métis Child, Family and Community Services, and Michif Child and Family Services, serving the Dauphin, The Pas and Brandon areas — went on strike on March 25.

The employees, who are represented by the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU), have been without a contract since the previous agreements expired on Jan. 31, 2023.

Workers had been asking for a new agreement that matched the four-year, 14 per cent wage increase members represented by the MGEU in other civil services got last year. 

Late Monday evening, the union announced it has reached an agreement with the agencies to resolve outstanding contract negotiations through interest arbitration, effectively bringing the strike to an end. 

In a statement, MGEU president Kyle Ross said the resolution "is an important step forward in our efforts to achieve wage parity for CFS members."

"We will continue to advocate for that outcome in arbitration," he said.

Last week, MGEU applied to the Manitoba Labour Board to have the current contract dispute with the agencies resolved by an independent arbitrator.

On Monday, the union said it would withdraw that application, after the employer agreed to voluntary arbitration.

As part of the agreement, the parties are scheduled for a hearing on April 22, with the arbitrator committing to deliver a ruling within four weeks. 

Union members from both agencies will return to work on Tuesday, MGEU said.

CBC News has reached out to both MGEU and the Manitoba Métis Federation for comment late Monday, but did not hear back as of publication time.