Monday, December 9, 2019

Making Manitoba Fair and Open for Everyone

The Manitoba government introduced legislation in late November that would give all workers equal opportunity to work on provincially tendered infrastructure projects.

“The Public Sector Construction Projects (Tendering) Act will level the playing field for all bidders and give all companies the same opportunities, regardless of union affiliation,” said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler. “We’re committed to ending the practice that workers need to become union members to work on public infrastructure projects, as we believe it infringes on their rights to determine whether or not they want to be represented by a union.”

This opens the door for Local 152 signatory employers and members to work on projects they previously were shut out of because of their union affiliation. Manitoba project labour agreements (PLAs) required employees to join a Building Trades Union to be eligible to work on public infrastructure projects. Besides infringing on workers’ charter rights to freedom of association, the restricted competition caused by PLAs hindered the government’s ability to get the best value for taxpayers’ money.

“By opening up contracts to greater competition, we expect more competitive pricing and savings for taxpayers,” said Schuler. “Competitive markets allow public-sector entities to obtain the best value for money on their projects, with a larger pool of bidders saving up to 10 percent of project costs.”

The proposed bill includes provincial government departments, Crown corporations, regional health authorities, universities, and school divisions. When they tender bids for construction work, they will now do so in accordance with the bill’s provisions.

Making Manitoba Fair and Open for Everyone

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