Strike postponed as Manitoba health-care workers vote on tentative agreement – Winnipeg [Video]

A strike by thousands of health-care workers in Manitoba has been called off after their union says it reached a tentative deal on a new contract.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals says the strike planned for today is postponed until workers can vote on the tentative agreement.

The union says 7,000 of its members, including paramedics, physiotherapists, midwives and social workers have been without a collective agreement since last April.

Wages have been the main sticking point in negotiations with the union saying its members were looking to be on par with counterparts in other provinces.

In the event of a strike, essential service agreements were in place that would have kept many workers on duty.

The workers involved are employed by the Winnipeg and northern regional health authorities as well as Shared Health, the province’s central health-care planning body.