Union crane operators are on strike, quieting construction sites around Winnipeg, Manitoba, according to reports by the CBC News. This is the second crane operator strike in as many months in Canada. In May, crane and heavy equipment operators with Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers withdrew their services on construction sites in Ontario.
On Monday, about 90 members of the Operating Engineers of Manitoba left several major construction sites in the city after turning down the final offer from the Construction Labour Relations Association of Manitoba, according to reports. The strikers operate cranes at sites such as the Manitoba Hydro building, water-treatment plants, and a pharmacy building at the Health Sciences Centre.
The main issues are wages and working conditions, according to union spokesman Patrick Campbell. There is a critical shortage of crane operators in Manitoba because wages are better in other parts of the country, he added.
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