{"id":194667,"date":"2026-09-03T16:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/194667\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:58:11","slug":"manitobas-labour-board-to-hear-government-request-on-essential-status-for-lab-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/194667\/","title":{"rendered":"Manitoba\u2019s labour board to hear government request on essential status for lab staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Manitoba\u00a0Labour Board is scheduled to hear a request next week that medical laboratory staff be deemed essential workers \u2014 the same day they\u2019re set to go on strike.<\/p>\n

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino filed an application to the board earlier this week, asking it to issue an interim order that the 350 employees remain on the job at Dynacare locations across the province.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the event of a strike, the cessation of Dynacare\u2019s collection and testing services would have a catastrophic impact on Manitoba\u2019s health-care system,\u201d the application said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The labour board said the hearing is set for Tuesday. That is the same day the\u00a0Manitoba\u00a0Association of Health Care Professionals has told the company it will be going on strike.<\/p>\n

The association represents lab workers at the privately owned and operated Dynacare. The union has been pushing for a wage increase to address what it estimates is a 20 to 50 per cent gap with public-sector lab workers.<\/p>\n

Bozena Turczynowicz, a recently retired lab worker, said she has seen colleagues leave Dynacare to work in the public health-care system, where employees are paid more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe structures are crumbling from within. We are permanently short-staffed every day. Some of our stations, they service up to 600 patients a day,\u201d Turczynowicz said at a rally Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Staff have been without a collective agreement since March 31. That same month, the union and Dynacare agreed an essential services agreement wasn\u2019t necessary.<\/p>\n

Marcelino was not made available for an interview Wednesday. But in a statement, she encouraged Dynacare to return to the bargaining table given its critical role in the system. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The health-care union, meanwhile, said it is \u201ctruly dismaying\u201d for the government to get involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis conversation needs to return back to these people who are being exploited by a private company \u2026 that is 100 per cent funded by the government of\u00a0Manitoba, that is not paying wages that are fair or commensurate with the public sector,\u201d said Jason Linklater, the union\u2019s president.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dynacare is the exclusive provider of community-based medical laboratory testing in the province. The for-profit company is based in Ontario but owned by an American parent company and has been providing services in\u00a0Manitoba\u00a0since 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is the primary collector of routine lab work, including blood samples, urinalysis and prenatal testing. Workers also administer testing that is essential for diagnoses and treatment of various diseases and public-health surveillance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Should the strike go ahead, patients will have to rely on hospitals for their lab work. But Shared Health, the body that oversees\u00a0Manitoba\u00a0health, says that will have a negative impact given that the system is already at full capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Shared Health) cannot accommodate patient backlog arising from a Dynacare work stoppage without posing additional safety risks,\u201d the agency said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dynacare, in a statement, said it worked to avoid labour disruption, and supports the government\u2019s choice to seek an essential services agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur employees are the reason 1.2 million Manitobans can access community laboratory services,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will participate in the Labour Board process to support our shared interest ensuring patients have continuous access to laboratory services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

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