For information regarding income supports for workers please click below:
After a week of delay and denial, the Alberta government has finally lived up to it’s promise to provide PAID leave to those who have to isolate for 14 days.
From the government website (for full information click the link here: alberta.ca/release.)
Financial supports for Albertans
Albertans should be focused on their health and not worry about whether they can pay their bills, so the government has put a number of options in place for those struggling financially:
Emergency Isolation Support: $50 million
This will be a temporary program for working adult Albertans who must self-isolate because they meet the Government of Alberta’s published criteria for self-isolation, including persons who are the sole caregiver for a dependent who must self-isolate because they meet the public health criteria, and who will not have another source of pay or compensation while they are self-isolated.
It will be distributed in one payment installment and will bridge the gap until the federal emergency payments begin in April.
We expect the program to be accessible by a simple online application through alberta.ca next week and that funds will be deposited in the accounts of eligible recipients beginning at that time.
The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) has produced a rescue plan for Alberta’s economy – which is being battered by the COVID-19 crisis and the collapse in the price of oil.
Read it here:
To CUPE members across Alberta,
The spread of the coronavirus around the world has led to numerous workplace issues that CUPE is dealing with. Each sector and workplace has their own issues, and CUPE staff and local executives are working around the clock to address them as best we can.
National Representatives are available by email and phone to assist locals as we work through the various issues.
Please keep the following principals in mind:
• Employers have legal obligations to ensure that the workplace is safe. Employers should inform employees if there is a risk of exposure and ensure that appropriate precautionary measures are taken.
• All employees are of 90 days or longer are entitled to unpaid leave due to the illness, injury or quarantine. Many collective agreements will allow for paid leave.
• At the time of writing this, the provincial government has promised paid sick leave for all who do not have it, but they have not provided any details of how that will work.
• If you are not sick, but need to stay at home to care for a child or family member, all employees are entitled to up to five days unpaid leave per year if the leave is necessary (a) for the health of the employee, or (b) for the employee to meet his or her family responsibilities in relation to a family member. Again, individual collective agreements might provide more leave or paid leave.
Where work can be done remotely or from an employee’s home, CUPE will ask employers to do so. In particular, employees with compromised immune systems need to be accommodated.
Schools and daycares have been cancelled, which creates a serious challenge for many workers. Employers have a duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship. This means employers may need to be flexible with hours of work, change schedules and allow employees to work from home where possible.
Employers also have a duty to accommodate where employees are required to self-isolate or provide care because family members are sick.
CUPE staff and elected representatives will continue to be available to assist with all manner of workplace issues. Please reach out to your job steward or local representative if you need assistance.
A message from CUPE Alberta Executive regarding CUPE Alberta Convention March 18-20, 2020 in Fort McMurray, AB:
After reviewing recommendations from public health and government officials, the executive of CUPE Alberta decided late Thursday evening to postpone our annual convention, scheduled to take place next week in Fort McMurray.
We’ve made this decision to slow down the rate of infection among at-risk populations. CUPE members work in schools, in long term care homes and in hospitals. These workers are most at risk, and most needed to fight a pandemic.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing our convention. We will monitor the situation and will aim to reschedule our convention once the pandemic has subsided or health authorities recommend gatherings such as ours go ahead.
In Solidarity,
Rory Gill, President CUPE AB
Even with deep cuts to public services, and with $436 million in new taxes, fees, licenses and premiums, the UCP are making Alberta’s debt and deficit worse.
Not that deficits are the problem Jason Kenney says they are. But deficits are why we are seeing all these cuts and tax increases, right?
No. Last year, Jason Kenney blew up Alberta finances with a $4.7 billion tax cut to corporations. That tax cut failed to create a single job. In fact, Alberta has lost 50,000 jobs under the Kenney plan.
And we are paying a steep price. Here are some of the features of today’s budget:
We all pay more
Fewer jobs
Cuts
Education minister lies, again.
Last week, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said all school boards would receive additional in the budget. What actually happened is that districts are now “allowed” to spend an “additional” $100 million from their own fundraising and reserves.
Pensions
Magical budgeting
Even though the deficit is getting larger, the UCP says they can balance the budget by 2023. That’s because they are relying on unrealistic economic projections. The budget projects a 2.5% growth in the Alberta economy in 2020, while five major banks are projecting an average of 1.7%. The UCP project an average oil price of $58/barrel, when the price has been hovering in the $45 range for some time. And Jason Kenney predicts 7.5% increases in revenue in 2021-22 and 2022-23, when private sector forecasts are much lower.
Summary
We have just learned about the passing of Yvonne Fast.
Yvonne spent her entire career in CUPE. She served as the President of the now defunct local at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, then as President of CUPE Alberta, worked as a National Representative in Red Deer and Edmonton, health care coordinator, and Regional Director from 2014-2018.
It’s no exaggeration to say she dedicated her life to CUPE.
Donations can be made in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Rest in peace Yvonne.