Expand B.C.'s pandemic pay program: BCGEU; Residence Inn workers sign agreement
Employer violating pandemic order: AUPE
EDMONTON — The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) filed an unfair labour complaint on May 25 over the treatment of front-line workers.
“Our complaint alleges that one employer is violating the Ministerial Order regarding the restriction of workers at continuing-care sites to employment at a single site,” says Susan Slade, vice-president of AUPE.
The complaint alleges that CBI Home Health in Edmonton refused to follow the Ministerial Order relating to single-site employment for workers in continuing care, says the union.
CBI has refused to give leaves of absence to workers who have been forced to temporarily give up their jobs in CBI home care or CBI lodges because they are required to work at only one site. It has also refused to guarantee they can return to their jobs after the pandemic with their original status intact, says AUPE.
“This situation is just one symptom of what is wrong with Alberta’s continuing-care system. The patchwork of private, mostly for-profit, operators each have their own rules and agendas and puts their interests above the interests of patients,” says Slade. “Another example is that it’s taking up to two months for employers to pay workers the $2-per-hour pandemic pay boost that was promised, even though the employers have already received the money.”
Expand B.C.’s pandemic pay program: BCGEU
BURNABY, B.C. — After the B.C. government released details of a federal-provincial cost-shared pandemic pay program to temporarily top up the wages of some essential workers on May 19, the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) is calling on the province to expand the program to cover more essential frontline workers.
“The BCGEU pushed hard for this program to cover the broadest possible range of essential works and, as a result, B.C.’s program is significantly more inclusive than those in other provinces,” says Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU. “But the bottom line for us is that all frontline essential workers are shouldering an incredible burden in terms of increased cost, stress and inconvenience as well as increased risks to their emotional and physical health.”
Under the program, which was first announced by the federal government in mid-April, thousands of BCGEU members will be eligible for a lump-sum payment calculated at $4 per straight-time hour retroactive to March 15, says the union.
BCGEU members covered by the program include corrections officers, social workers, employment assistance workers, and those who work in health care and social services. However, thousands more have been left out of the program including those in public liquor and cannabis stores and warehouses, maintaining supply chains for the restaurant industry as well as a critical revenue stream for the government during the pandemic, says BCGEU.
Residence Inn workers sign agreement
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) Canada, Local 1006A members working at the Residence Inn by Marriott Mississauga-Airport hotel in Mississauga, Ont. signed a new deal on May 25 that provides better wages, and increased sick days.
Highlights of the new collective agreement include an increase in the number of sick days, scheduling by seniority, five weeks of vacation after 15 years of service, substantial wage increases and better union visitation rights.
“The union fought hard and won improvements for these hospitality members despite very challenging circumstances in the industry,” says Wayne Hanley, UFCW 1006A president.
Employees at the Residence Inn by Marriott Mississauga-Airport work in a variety of positions, including housekeeping and laundry and as shuttle drivers.
