Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 26, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A2 A 2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020 ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada VOL 150 NO 47 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2020 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor Operations and Engagement / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an in- dependent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. 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GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 O N Christmas Eve, in the late stages of a year in which hope has been harder to find than a N95 respirator, Manitobans got a peek at something resembling hope that came from - of all things - three government news releases. The news releases confirmed agreements had been reached with three unions - the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union and the Manitoba Association of Health Care Providers - to provide an allowance each time a health-care support worker is moved, redeployed or otherwise disrupted because of the pandemic response. The staff involved provide a range of services, includ- ing in priority areas such as personal care homes, intensive care units and dedicated COVID-19 units. These deals are important because they finally, thankfully, suggest the Tory government understands the contribution of public-sector workers during the pandemic. To be completely fair, these were not the first agree- ments. In late November, Ottawa and Manitoba combined to create a $35-million caregiver support pro- gram to provide wage premiums for front-line staff in personal care homes, foster care and shelters. At the beginning of December, an agreement was reached with the Manitoba Nurses Union and the MGEU to provide top-ups for nurses whose normal schedules had been disrupted. There have also been deals struck with Doctors Manitoba to allow for more virtual consultations and to provide sick pay if a doctor is forced to take time off work to isolate or recover from COVID-19. It's also important to note the new deal with CUPE is largely in response to concerns the first federal-provincial caregiver program was too narrow and would exclude thousands of worthy, front-line staff. These agreements do not completely erase the woeful record of labour rela- tions amassed by Premier Brian Pal- lister and his Progressive Conservative government during its first four-plus years in power. Nor does it change the fact tens of thousands of public-sector workers remain without renewed contracts. And it certainly does not eliminate the simmering legal dispute between Pallis- ter and unionized workers over the wage freeze bill, which is so legally flawed that it has never been proclaimed. Even after it was struck down by a Manitoba court for perverting the collective bar- gaining process, it lives on in appeal and as a result, remains a potent expression of the Pallister government's contempt for unionized workers. So, even as we celebrate these latest agreements with health-care workers, we cannot forget that the Pallister gov- ernment is appealing the wage-freeze bill decision to give it another excuse not to negotiate new deals with tens of thousands of workers, many of whom work in health care. Still, the fact these deals were reached through negotiation - and not sheer force of will on the government's part - is an important accomplish- ment worthy of praise. That is a point worth repeating: the Pallister government reached these deals though negotiation even though it had the tools at its disposal to force health-care workers to do whatever it wanted. There are boiler-plate provisions in contracts with health-care workers that, if invoked, allow the government to move people anywhere at any time to meet needs during an emergency without (in many instances) additional compensation. It is important to note these provisions were not invoked. The deals are winners in two ways. First, although the special allowance could never be fully commensurate with the level of commitment and ef- fort we've seen during this pandemic, it will no doubt boost morale for over- worked health-care staff. That boost in morale should (empha- sis on 'should') allow the province more flexibility to redeploy staff to those areas of greatest need. When you're fighting a pandemic, you can never have too much flexibility. For diehard Tory supporters who fear the province is getting cosy with unions, take note: on the same day these agreements were announced, the Free Press reported the Pallister government is looking to repeal the Construction Industry Wages Act, a law that sets competitive rates for skilled trades. So, all things considered, Pallister should be able to retain his anti-union bona fides well into the future. You could quibble, and many no doubt will, about the fact that these deals were reached nine months after the pandemic hit Manitoba. You could also obsess over the fact that at times, the government's management of health-care staff has been a catas- trophe, particularly in personal care homes where, health officials admit- ted, proper staffing levels were not maintained even as COVID-19 ravaged elderly residents. And, you could be forgiven if you found it a little ironic that it took a pandemic that eliminated face-to-face negotiation in order for the Pallister government to rediscover its negotiat- ing groove. However, this is still an important trend that one hopes will continue as long as the pandemic is stretching health-care workers to the point of snapping. The only thing better would be if this new spirit of co-operation were to translate into a commitment to resolve all of the outstanding public-sector union contracts through negotiation rather than the threat of legislation. We can dare to dream. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca DAN LETT OPINION Tories' peace offering to health workers sign of hope TWELVE more deaths from COVID-19 and 244 new cases of the virus were announced in Manitoba Thursday. No COVID-19 data was released by provincial health officials on Christmas Day, and none is ex- pected today. On Thursday, five-day test-posi- tivity rates provincewide and in Winnipeg were 10.6 per cent, while there were 254 people hospitalized in Manitoba with active cases of COVID-19 and 92 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but require care. Outbreaks were declared Thursday at the E5 medicine unit at St. Boniface Hospital, Calvary Place personal-care home and Deer Lodge Centre. Of the new cases announced Thursday, 114 were in Winnipeg, 44 in the Interlake-Eastern health region, 42 in the Southern Health region, 41 in the Northern health region and three in the Prairie Mountain health region. None of the 12 deaths were spe- cifically tied to outbreaks in per- sonal-care homes or hospitals, according to provincial data. Those who died ranged in age from their 30s to 90s, and most are from Winnipeg. They include a woman in her 30s and a woman in her 80s both from the Southern health region; a man in his 80s from the North- ern health region; and a woman in her 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 60s, two women in their 80s, a man in his 80s and two women in their 90s, all from the Winnipeg region. This week, public-health of- ficials repeatedly emphasized Manitobans are prohibited from gathering outside their house- holds for the holidays, and should go out only for essentials. Outdoor, physically distanced gatherings of a maximum of five people are al- lowed under public-health orders. On Wednesday, Manitoba acting deputy chief public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said the Christmas holidays are "make or break" in Manitoba's pandemic response. "I say it again and I'll say it as much as I need to: stay at home," Atwal said. "This holiday sea- son will be make or break in our COVID outlook for 2021." The next briefing on COVID-19 is scheduled for Tuesday. 12 deaths, 244 new cases reported Thursday MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Jazz Atwal, acting deputy chief provincial public health officer, has stressed Manitobans' behaviour during the holidays will affect the 2021 outlook. A_02_Dec-26-20_FP_01.indd A2 2020-12-25 10:30 PM ;