Peter Olfert

Peter Olfert is a Canadian labour leader in Manitoba, Canada. Olfert was president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (formerly the Manitoba Government Employees' Association) from 1986 to 2010. He has also served as a vice-president of the National Union of Public and General Employees.

Peter Olfert
Born
Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupationlabour leader

Olfert was raised in a Mennonite family in Steinbach, and later moved to Winnipeg. He completed his Grade 12, was a maintenance worker and embalmer in the 1970s, and served as a postal clerk in the Department of Government Services before being chosen as MGEU president. He attended Labour College in Ottawa in 1985.[1]

Olfert has represented his union in negotiations with three different provincial governments. He was often critical of the austerity measures pursued by Premier Gary Filmon's administration in the 1990s,[2] and at one stage accused Filmon of intimidating the union into silence.[3] He was also a frequent opponent of Labour Minister Vic Toews, and led home-care workers and casino workers in protracted battles against the government in 1996.[4]

In 1997, Olfert endorsed a provincial deal to end the Filmon government's policy of wage freezes and unpaid days off.[5] In the same period, he worked in a successful battle to extend employee benefits to same-sex couples.[6]

Filmon's government was defeated by the New Democratic Party under Gary Doer in the 1999 provincial election (Doer, ironically, was Olfert's predecessor as MGEU president). Olfert's union accepted a deal to allow for optional unpaid leave days in 2002,[7] though he has nonetheless engaged in several difficult negotiations with the Doer government.[8]

Olfert became acting chairman of the Crocus Investment Fund in late 2004, at a time when the fund announced that it was freezing sales and reviewing the value of its assets.[9] He submitted his resignation in May 2005, after the fund experienced further difficulties.[10] Shortly thereafter, he said that he was shocked by reports of lavish overspending by officers, and added that he had not always been given accurate information about the fund.[11]

References
  1. Glen MacKenzie, "President Olfert MGEU head has seen many changes in decade", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 October 1996, B4.
  2. See for instance David Roberts, "Manitoba slashes 1,000 jobs, Budget pleases business leaders", Globe and Mail, 17 April 1991, A6; "Manitoba public servants protest budget cutbacks", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 8 April 1993, F14; "MGEU putting rollback case before UN body", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 1993.
  3. Frances Russell, "Filmon's sieve rarely leaks", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 October 1994. He later said that an advocacy campaign by his union succeeded in making health care and education the main issues of the 1995 provincial election. See Lindor Reynolds, "Advocacy groups claim victory but electorate shrugs them off", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 April 1995.
  4. Paul McKie, "Deprived of its sword, injured MGEU fights on", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 April 1996, B13; "Care workers set to strike", Globe and Mail, 10 June 1996, N6; Alice Krueger, "End is in sight for strikers", Winnipeg Free Press, 16 August 1996, A1; "Casino workers seek fair play", Winnipeg Free Press, 7 September 1996, A11; Paul Samyn, "Olfert expects to be re-elected MGEU leader", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 September 1996, A4.
  5. Kim Guttormson, "Filmon Fridays end with new deal", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 November 1997, A3.
  6. "Feds to extend same-sex benefits", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 March 1999, A12.
  7. David Kuxhaus, "Union gives 'Doer Days' its blessing", Winnipeg Free Press, 8 August 2002, A3.
  8. See for example "Union head slams government", Montreal Gazette, 17 March 2006, A10.
  9. "Bloom is off Crocus fund" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 December 2004, A12.
  10. Paul Egan, "Seventh Crocus director offers to quit troubled fund", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 May 2005, B3.
  11. Paul Egan, "'How could this happen?' Lavish expenses rung up while shares tumbled", Winnipeg Free Press, 31 May 2005, A1.
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