LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Privatization of community labs a costly mistake

In August, 99.7 percent of Dynacare laboratory professionals voted in favour of a strike mandate.

On Sept. 8, they went on strike. On the same day, they were ordered back to work without a fair deal after the government appealed to the labour board to have them declared essential workers.

It is disappointing to see the government siding with this American, for-profit company over Manitoban workers. Dynacare and the union agreed in March that no essential services agreement was needed, and that agreement was documented with the Labour Board at the time. The government waited seven months and intervened at the last minute of negotiations, effectively removing the only leverage these underpaid workers had in negotiations with an American-owned, for-profit company.

Dynacare has had a monopoly on outpatient lab services in Manitoba since 2017 and has no competition to incentivize them to pay their workers fairly. The government gave them another contract in 2025, extending their monopoly for five years.

Recently released details of Dynacare’s contract show they have received substantial increases in funding from the provincial government under their previous contract. Instead of using this money to pay their workers fairly, their last offer at the negotiating table would still leave Dynacare wages approximately 20-30 percent behind those in the public system.

Rather than an efficient use of public dollars, this contract is fueling the profits of an American-owned corporation while Manitoban workers are falling behind.

The new contract between the province and Dynacare never should have been signed. Privatization of community labs in Manitoba was a mistake that needs to be corrected with a fully public model.

This has already been done elsewhere. In Alberta, community labs are now fully public after an expensive and failed attempt at privatization of their diagnostic facilities. Alberta’s contract with the private, for-profit company Dynalife ended after wasting over $100 million in public funds. Dynalife could not deliver on the cost savings they promised the province while making what they considered enough profit.

The same pattern is playing out in Manitoba. Despite funding increases from the province, Dynacare is claiming they cannot afford to pay their workers fairly and are refusing to negotiate in good faith.

Now Dynacare lab professionals are being forced back to work for this private American company’s profits. This will hurt patients in the long run and do further damage to Manitoba’s lab system.

Health care and profits don’t mix. The math doesn’t add up and it’s always the public who pay the price.