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NICOLE BUFFIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Lab workers at Dynacare on Regent Avenue were turning patients away Saturday morning as hundreds of people scrambled to get bloodwork done before a planned strike on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was driving by at 7:15 this morning and there was already a line-up to the road, so I was like \u2018nope, not going there\u2019 so I went to the one on Sterling Lyon (Parkway) and it was closed, and then I went to the one at St. Vital Mall and there had a line zig-zagging all the way through the corridors so I gave up and came back,\u201d said Joanna, who declined to give her last name.<\/p>\n
Joanna was given a blood requisite by her doctor on Friday that was deemed urgent and had no choice but to come in before workers prepare to strike on Tuesday. Many labs across Winnipeg closed prematurely ahead of the planned disruption, and the ones that stayed open cut their hours short.<\/p>\n
The median wait time on Regent was around 45 minutes mid-morning. A security guard at the front door was acting as a liaison for employees to inform patients the lab was at capacity.<\/p>\n
By 11 a.m. all locations in Winnipeg were marked as \u201cclosed\u201d on the Dynacare website. Saturday was the last opportunity for those in need to visit Dynacare as the labs are typically closed on Sundays and holidays.<\/p>\n
The company, which conducts blood tests at 22 outlets in Winnipeg, Brandon and surrounding communities, is deadlocked in contract negotiations with the union that represents its 350 workers.<\/p>\n
The union has argued the provincial government gave Dynacare, a U.S.-based private firm, an $11.7-million boost after the last round of negotiations in 2022 \u2014 and little went to workers.<\/p>\n
Negotiations ended this week after Dynacare rejected the union\u2019s counter-proposal and ended conciliation. The collective agreement expired on March 31.<\/p>\n
Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals president Jason Linklater previously said workers are not being paid properly and has accused the province of meddling in negotiations between the two sides.<\/p>\n
The province has requested a labour board review of the strike, which will happen Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Health officials warned that any disruption would significantly impair the health-care system.<\/p>\n
Shared Health said Friday its officials, as well as regional health authorities, CancerCare Manitoba and the government have been working together to prepare for the walkout. Emergency and time-sensitive diagnostic testing will continue, with testing prioritized according to clinical urgency and patient need.<\/p>\n
On its website Shared Health said in the event of a work stoppage it would extend the hours of some labs in its purview to accommodate the demand.<\/p>\n
In an email sent to MAHCP workers Friday evening, the union said the employer cancelled a scheduled meeting on Friday and sent a new offer to the group\u2019s lead negotiator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hopeful that Dynacare\u2019s new offer would close the huge wage gap that their last offer did very little to address. Instead, their offer today was another insult,\u201d the email, obtained by the Free Press, said. \u201cThey told media this morning they are bargaining in good faith, but what they proposed this morning does not match their words.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee rejected the offer and plan to move ahead with Tuesday\u2019s strike, the email said.<\/p>\n
In an unsigned statement issued Friday, a Dynacare official argued its offer to the union reflects the maximum the company can \u201csustainably provide\u201d and that the company remains open to taking the matter to arbitration.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have been transparent about that reality throughout bargaining. We continue to believe interest arbitration is the fairest path to resolving this,\u201d said the company\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
At Dynacare\u2019s St. Vital location, Gurmeet Sembhi slowly walked back to her car after being told she wouldn\u2019t be able to see a lab tech for her blood collection.<\/p>\n
She, too, was given an urgent note from her doctor requesting blood samples, but now she\u2019s not sure where to go or how long she will have to wait to give a sample.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worry about my health,\u201d she said. \u201cI need this blood done. What do they expect us to do if we have health concerns?\u201d<\/p>\n
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Nicole Buffie Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College\u2019s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Multimedia producer
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