Manitoba Federation of Labour: Working to Grow Unions and Pushing for Greater Worker Rights

In this program, "Community Hour", U-Multicultural reporter, Yuliia Kovalenko interviews Kevin Rebek, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour. He speaks to the importance of labour unions, as through collective agreements with employers, they can ensure that workers' rights are protected, that their working conditions are safe and that workers are reasonably well-paid.

"We are all feeling the rising costs of inflation, and the price of gas and grocery stores is going up. Workers need to be able to keep up and get ahead, but it seems and feels like our provincial government is more interested in the wealthy getting ahead than workers like you and me. So, it's been a tough go, but we're optimistic that there is a brighter future ahead", says Rebeck.

He says that unfortunately the current Manitoba government has been working to curtail the labour movement, favouring employers, many of whom are making exceptionally high profits that often leave the country, rather than the revenues being more fairly distributed to employees who would spend the money in their local communities. He says that the Federation has conducted studies that show that unionized workers make $5 per hour more than their non-unionized counterparts. 

With the rise of right-wing politics and extremism, Rebek says that this is working against workers' getting a fair wage and being treated fairly. In essence, he says, the middle class is being hollowed out. It is the middle class who help the economy grow for everyone, he explains.

Kovalenko asks him how one could join a union. As he explained, some workplaces are unionized, so becoming part of the union is easy when hired at such a place. Other places are not, but employees can become part of union. He says that they can get in touch with the Manitoba Federation of Labour to learn how to do it. There is often considerable push-back by employers, but they have a right to do it if most employees vote for that option.

On recent improvements made through the Federation, Rebek says, "I'm particularly proud that in Manitoba, through the work of our Federation of Labour and working with our MFL women's committee, we were the first province to successfully advocate and implement benefits for paid domestic workers who experience violence at their place of work", says Rebek.

His current concern is the protection of gig workers. He feels strongly that they need a Bill of Rights as they have no cushion in case they must be off work.

He is also concerned about newcomers who don't know what their rights are and can be taken advantage of by employers. One can get in touch with the Employment Standards branch of the Manitoba government to find out about your rights, he explained. For those who are hurt on the job, they should get in touch with the Workman's Compensation Board.

Rebeck gets into considerable detail about  the importance of the Manitoba labour movement and its role in making Manitoba a better to live. He believes that the Manitoba labour movement makes a real difference in people's lives in Manitoba.