Wpg Free Press: Tories accused of playing games with wage bill

As the Winnipeg Free Press reports: 

The Progressive Conservative government refuses to say whether it will proclaim its controversial public-sector wage bill once it passes, raising speculation it will simply use Bill 28 as a club to get its way in contract talks with unions….

David Camfield, a professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, said the government could hold it in reserve as a club or threat.

“That’s a plausible interpretation. If they hold it in reserve, they avoid the messiness around a charter challenge,” he said Friday….

Meanwhile, Camfield said the Pallister government likely feels confident about its position.

“It’s got a strong majority, and I don’t think it’s any secret that there is not a highly mobilized union movement in Manitoba at this point,” he said.