Dynacare employees at laboratory facilities in Winnipeg and Brandon are on the brink of a strike due to heavy workloads and stagnant wages, according to their union. The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals announced that 99.7% of laboratory technicians and technologists voted in favor of strike action this week, with 87% of around 350 Dynacare workers participating in the vote. These employees have been without a contract since the previous one expired on April 1.
The workers, stationed at Dynacare’s 22 lab and health services centers in Winnipeg and Brandon, as well as the main lab on King Edward Street in Winnipeg, collectively conducted over 15 million lab tests in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Despite increased workloads, their compensation has remained static, stated MAHCP president Jason Linklater.
Linklater highlighted that current wages for Dynacare lab professionals lag behind Shared Health employees’ pay for similar specialized roles by 20 to 50%. The wage disparity varies depending on job classification and years of service. He emphasized that the recent vote outcome demonstrates the employees’ unity and frustration, making recruitment and retention challenging when salaries significantly trail those in the public system.
Negotiations for a new collective agreement between Dynacare and MAHCP began in February after the previous agreement expired on March 31. Despite entering mediation in July, the parties have not yet reached a tentative agreement. No further bargaining or mediation dates have been scheduled at this time. The union is prepared to issue strike notice if bargaining dates are not set to resume negotiations promptly.
The union aims to avoid disrupting lab services in the province and hopes to encourage Dynacare to return to the bargaining table for a resolution with lab professionals statewide. Dynacare, having acquired Unicity Labs in 2017, holds a monopoly on non-hospital laboratory services in Manitoba. It is a subsidiary of Labcorp, an American company whose profits have more than doubled over the past two years, increasing from $418 million in 2023 to $876 million in 2025, according to the union.