Posted on 12/19/2009, 8:19 am, by mySteinbach

The final stage of a three-stage improvement in the construction industry wage rates will take effect Jan. 1, Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced.
 
“This is the third wage increase based on recommendations of the Construction Industry Wages Consultation Panel in January 2008,” said Howard.  “This increase maintains the new provincewide schedules established in June of 2009, ensuring construction minimum wages rates are the same for rural and urban construction regardless of where a building is being constructed.”
 
The Construction Industry Wages Consultation Panel is a joint industry-labour group covering rural and urban construction.
 
The Construction Industry Wages Act divides the construction industry into the heavy sector and the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sector. Wage rates differ, depending on the type of work performed.
 
In the heavy construction sector, wages will rise between 2.5 and three per cent effective Jan. 1. In the ICI sector, the wage schedule is generally increasing around four per cent as of Jan. 1.
 
“The panel did a good job balancing the needs of employees with the costs of running a construction business,” Howard said.  “We believe the rates will help keep Manitoba’s construction industry competitive in the national labour market and make the province an attractive place to live and do business,”
 
More information on wage rates can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards.