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WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government recently started construction on three schools in Winnipeg with site development underway for another in Brandon.

All the projects fall under the new Manitoba Jobs Agreement (MJA), with work starting less than one year after the projects were announced, a release explains.

“There was a significant competitive bidding process for these projects. To date, of the five contracts awarded as part of the schools project under the MJA, both open and closed shops were successful,” it notes. “Three of the companies are Manitoba companies, one is a Canadian company, and one has operated in Manitoba for more than 100 years.”

The four new schools will be located in Winnipeg’s Devonshire Park and Prairie Pointe neighbourhoods, West St. Paul’s Meadowlands neighbourhood and southwest Brandon.

All four schools will be built simultaneously using a standardized design.

According to the province, the MJA is a provincial policy that prioritizes Manitoba workers on major government infrastructure projects to deliver higher wages, benefits and strong safety protections. It is meant to boost local employment, workforce development through apprenticeships and project stability by setting consistent terms for union and non-union trades. All contractors can participate under the terms of the MJA.

“The MJA will ensure that construction’s skilled tradespersons working on any MJA project sites will receive appropriate Manitoba-based, market-driven wages, benefits, working conditions and safety packages, no different than what the Construction Labour Relations Association of Manitoba’s (CLRAM) construction employers provide to their employees,” said Peter Wightman, executive director of the CLRAM, in a statement. “It is satisfying to see that our provincial government has correctly recognized that construction tradespersons are highly skilled professionals who bring great value to any construction project and should be compensated and treated in a respectful fashion. CLRAM supports the MJA.”

The Manitoba government will utilize MJAs for a number of major projects, including the Victoria emergency room redevelopment.

“For years, under the previous government, Manitoba had skilled tradespeople sitting on the out-of-work list while the few public projects failed to deliver stable, local employment,” said Tanya Palson, executive director for the Manitoba Building Trades. “MJAs change that. By prioritizing Manitoba workers and apprenticeship opportunities, MJAs are turning public investment into real jobs, real training and long-term workforce capacity for this province.”