8 BUILD MANITOBA winnipegconstruction.ca Manitoba’s construction industry supports the goals of workforce development, apprenticeship growth and inclusive hiring. We always have. But the Manitoba Jobs Agreement (MJA) – which the Kinew government began applying to public projects over $50 million in 2025 – is not the right tool to achieve them. It is a project labour agreement that restricts competition, overrides worker choice and directs public dollars to organizations workers never chose to support. The costs that concern us most are not wages or standard worker benefits – open shop contractors across Manitoba already provide competitive health and benefit plans to their employees. What we object to are the additional levies that flow not to workers, but to union organizations. Chief among them: a mandatory $0.85-per-hour charge on every in-scope hour worked, paid directly to the Building Trades Bargaining Council (BTBC). This is not a worker benefit. It funds the BTBC’s own activities. On top of the BTBC remittance, non-union workers are required under Article 10.2 of the MJA to pay an amount equal to full union dues as a condition of working on the project – even though they never joined a union and never voted for one. These amounts are deducted from their paycheques and remitted to the unions. Workers have no say, no opt-out and no recourse. This is compelled financial support for an organization the worker did not choose. Beyond the financial burden, the MJA structurally disadvantages non-union contractors from the moment they bid. Union-affiliated workers receive preferential hiring status under Article 20.3.2. More troubling still, Article 20.5.2 grants an affiliate local union the power – at its “absolute discretion” – to evaluate and reject non-union employees before those workers set foot on site. This introduces too much labour risk for an open shop contractor. WHAT WE ARE CALLING FOR The WCA Board of Directors has called on the province to re-engage industry in a principles-based process – FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY The Manitoba Jobs Agreement: Who Is It Really Working For? one that achieves workforce and inclusion goals without imposing a specific labour system. We have proposed eight targeted amendments: eliminate compelled payments to unions from non-union workers and contractors; replace union-controlled hiring preferences with competency and Manitoba residency as the sole basis for staffing; prohibit unions from gatekeeping non-union workforces; ban project bundling as a mechanism to trigger MJA applicability; strengthen worker privacy protections; and require an independent public review – tabled in the Legislature – before the MJA is extended to any new project. THIS IS ABOUT ALL OF MANITOBA Manitoba’s construction industry is diverse, highly capable and deeply committed to building this province well. Our members – union and non-union alike – want to work on public projects. They want to train apprentices, hire inclusively and deliver on time and on budget. The MJA, as currently structured, makes that harder, not easier. Good public infrastructure policy unites the industry. The MJA divides it. We are calling on Premier Kinew’s government to come back to the table – not to abandon its goals, but to pursue them in a way that works for every qualified Manitoban who wants to build. Darryl Harrison The WCA’s full position statement and eight proposed amendments are available at winnipegconstruction.ca.
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