Strike at Manitoba's land titles offices expands after weeks of job action

Half of the unionized workers at Manitoba land titles offices are now on strike, which could impact things like the transfer of property titles and sales of homes, the union that represents the workers says.

The vast majority of workers atTeranetManitoba the service provider for Manitoba's land titles system and personal property registry are located inWinnipeg, but there are other offices inMorden, Brandon, Dauphin, Neepawa, and Portage la Prairie.

There are 70 unionized workers, of whom 35 are now fully on strike, says theManitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which earlier this week also announced a full strike by unionized Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries employees.

TheTeranet Manitoba workers register property transactions for homeowners and businesses, including the purchase and sale of homes, cottages and other properties throughManitoba's land titles system and personal property registry, according to MGEU.

Job action at the land titles offices started July 21, with workersrefusing overtime. That later escalated with targeted strikes by assistant district registrars, senior paralegalsand document examiners.

They're now being joined by land title clerks with the client services team,"who process payments and assist external clients to ensure documents are finalized in a timely manner," stated a Friday news release from the union.

Bargaining has been going on for more than a year.

But MGEU president Kyle Ross says there has been a lack of progress towardageneral wage increase that reflects rising costs of living.

"Our bargaining committee and members decided it was time to ramp things up and take out the client service team. Believe me, this decision wasn't made lightly," he said at a news conference on the picket line on Friday.

"We know this has huge potential for serious delays for Manitoba, including those buying or selling a home."

Following a June vote by union members in favour of a strike mandate,Teranet Manitoba issued a statement saying the union's bargaining committee "accepted and unanimously recommended" an offer made to itsemployees, but "members did not find the terms satisfactory."

Teranetsaid at that point it was "committed to resolution through the collective bargaining process."

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