The NDP are back at it again. Nearly a decade after forcing non-union construction workers to pay union dues if they wanted to work on the Winnipeg Floodway expansion project Greg Selinger and his NDP government are back for more.
Both the proposed Bi-Pole III hydro transmission line and the construction of a new permanent east-side road are scheduled to be built by the NDP government under a contract that will force non-unionized construction companies who want to work on these jobs to have their employees pay dues to a union directed by the government. This is simply forced unionization.
In fact, many non-unionized companies may simply decide not to bid on these jobs because they object so strongly to having their employees forced to pay into a union that they don’t actually belong to. As a result, the combination of fewer companies bidding on these jobs and the added cost on the job itself, the NDP government stands to waste $3 billion of taxpayers’ dollars on $22 billion worth of projects.
The forced unionization of the Floodway not only added to the cost of the project but it caused significant backlash in the construction industry. So much so that rather than see the same thing happen again, a lawsuit has been launched by five construction workers and Merit Contractors Association against the Manitoba government arguing that it is a breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to force this type of unionization.
This week Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister said that a P.C. government would not support a policy that forces workers to pay union dues when they are not part of a union just to get a job on a government contract. But the NDP government has indicated they have no intention of backing off of their policy and any non-unionized companies that win work on these government contracts will have to have their employees pay into a union.
The fact is that while the NDP may feel this is smart politics and a way to gain favour with unions, it is not smart government and it drives up the cost of construction for the Manitoba government and by extension for all Manitobans. This sort of closed shop bidding results in many construction companies not bidding on contracts and that hurts the employees that work at those companies and Manitoba overall.
The NDP government’s insistence on forcing unionization on its large construction projects is not in the interests of Manitoba and is not what is expected within a free and democratic society. As Progressive Conservative’s, we will continue to oppose any forced unionization provisions on government work.
