A new fee added to bids on large public-sector construction projects in Manitoba could add millions of dollars in costs, three major industry associations said Thursday.

The fee, 85 cents per hour, per worker, has been implemented as part of the Manitoba Jobs Agreement program launched last year by the provincial government.

The program is aimed at prioritizing local workers for publicly funded infrastructure jobs of more than $50 million, and the fee is to be used for worker training, so that there are more local workers with the required skills.

The Winnipeg Construction Association, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association and the Construction Association of Rural Manitoba said money raised by the fee will be administered by Manitoba Building Trades, a council that represents 13 construction unions.

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“This fee is being sent directly to the Manitoba Building Trades without any clear oversight. Nobody in government has explained how the number was set, what it’s supposed to fund or who’s watching the money,” Ron Hambley, president of the Winnipeg Construction Association, said in a news release.

The three associations called on the province’s auditor general to investigate the fee. There was no immediate response from the auditor general’s office.

The NDP government said money raised by the fee will go toward ensuring Manitoba workers are trained for the needed construction jobs, and will result in fewer out-of-province licence plates at work sites.

“We don’t want to bring the workforce from out of province. This is our No. 1 focus,” said Mintu Sandhu, the minister for public service delivery.

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said the government has the authority to raise the fee well beyond 85 cents in the future, and even the current rate could add 15 per cent or more to a project’s cost.

“It’s a bad deal for Manitoba,” Tory legislature member Josh Guenter said.

Manitoba job agreements also set standard wages and benefits on big public projects, covering both unionized and non-unionized workers. One goal is to prevent labour disruptions during long construction timelines.

The concept was used 20 years ago for an expansion of the Red River Floodway that diverts rising water around Winnipeg and prevents the capital from flooding.

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