Dynacare workers in Winnipeg, Brandon vote in favour of strike
Posted August 15, 2026 10:42 am.
Dynacare lab workers in Brandon and Winnipeg voted over 90 per cent in favour of a strike. The strike notice has not been issued yet, as the union hopes to return to bargaining.
“Oh no! A little bit of panic,” said one Winnipegger CityNews spoke to. “Immediately I thought I need to get myself over before they went on strike.”
An overwhelming 99.7 per cent of lab technicians and technologists voted in favour of strike, with the last collective agreement expiring on April 1.
“I think it puts people at a disadvantage, because I think that’s an essential service. And obviously they are busy and are seeing a lot of patients, which will be a detriment for the people to get the medical care they need,” said another Winnipegger.
Currently, Dynacare is the only company providing non-hospital testing in the province. The union says workers have collectively performed over 15 million lab tests in 2024-25, and the public system may not be able to handle this test load in case of strike action.
In a statement to CityNews, a provincial spokesperson says they are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work with health system partners to ensure care is available to Manitobans.
“If they are not bargaining with them, then they have to go on strike. It’s the way our society is nowadays,” said another Winnipegger.
The union representing 350 lab workers says the strike vote comes at a time of heavy workloads and stagnant wages.
The negotiations for the new agreement started in February, and the parties have not been able to reach a tentative agreement since entering mediation in July.
“We respect the right of our employees to bargain in good faith, as represented by a third party. Our focus remains on providing quality healthcare services in Manitoba, of which our employees play an integral part. Dynacare looks forward to achieving an equitable resolution as soon as possible,” read a statement from Dynacare.
Jason Linklater, the president of the Manitoba Association of Healthcare Professionals, says, “It shows how disappointed and upset they are. And quite frankly it’s no wonder. Their workloads have gone up while their wage have fallen 20 to 50 per cent behind their colleagues in the public system doing the exact same function.”
The strike notice has not been sent yet, as the union says they are still hopeful to get back to the bargaining table.
“It’s something that neither our members nor MHCP want to see happen. It is not good for the public to be even engaging in these thoughts,” said Linklater.
