Manitoba Public Insurance agrees to union's request for conciliation to end strike

Manitoba Public Insurance and the union representing 1,700 of its employees have agreed to meet with a conciliator to help put an end to ongoing strike action.

Both parties agreed to conciliation on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said.

The announcement comes a day after the union asked the Crown corporation to consider the idea.

While MPI also confirmed the agreement Thursday, a spokesperson said conciliation "is not required" to end the strike.

The corporation's last offer, which included goingto binding arbitration on the issue of general wage increases, is still on the table

"MGEU accepting this offer could end the strike immediately without any risk to MPI's 1,700 unionized employees," the spokesperson added.

The strike started on Aug. 28.