Meanwhile, the Belles Plaines agreement is the third time in the past year that teachers have received raises that go against the law. The situation in Beautiful Plains suggests that divisions don`t need provincial councils to make arrangements with staff, Bedford added. MTS President James Bedford said Friday that the deal was the first to be reached in the public sector after Bill 28 was introduced and recently struck down in a court challenge. The Manitoba Teachers` Society praises a new collective agreement between a rural school service and its teachers as a “turning point” in public sector bargaining in the province. The union, which represents more than 16,000 teachers in Manitoba`s public schools, announced Friday that members of the Beautiful Plains Teachers` Association have voted unanimously to ratify a new agreement. The Pallister government is appealing the decision. The new contract at Beautiful Plains, which includes schools in Carberry and Neepawa, includes a 1.6 percent increase for 2018-19 and a 1.4 percent increase for 2019-20. All teachers will then receive a $500 bonus for the third year. Last summer, the Manitoba Court of Queen`s Bench struck down the law, calling it a “draconian measure” that limited the bargaining power of unions. “It`s a statement that employees and employers can sit down together (and) have a negotiation that`s good for both parties and that leads to what`s really inflation protection,” Bedford said. Substitute teachers also receive a three per cent increase.
Earlier this month, the Department of Education informed Manitoba superintendents that Manitoba departments must now seek a “bargaining mandate” from Cabinet`s Public Sector Compensation Committee before entering into negotiations with unionized and non-unionized employees. Introduced in 2017, Bill 28, the Public Services Sustainability Act, aims to regulate wage increases for public sector employees over a four-year period. It proposes a wage freeze for the first two years, followed by a 0.75 percent increase and a one percent increase last year. .
