COVID-19 - Member Update #8
April 16, 2020 at 4:57 PM
We are deeply saddened by the City of Winnipeg's announcement to temporarily lay off 674 CUPE 500 members who work in the Community Services Department.
"These layoffs will hurt our community," said Local 500 President Gord Delbridge. "Yes, we need to fight COVID-19, but we also have a city to run."
CUPE 500 has been working closely with the City to develop creative ways to keep employees working for our community.
"With thousands of jobs being targeted by the province, and potentially thousands of jobs by the City, we know this will have a huge economic impact on our community," said Delbridge. "Pulling thousands of workers off the payroll will certainly have longer economic impacts than keeping staff working, because entire families are being hurt".
CUPE 500 has worked with the City to develop a Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) so that our members will will receive an EI top-up of up to 75% of their salary.
"We want to reduce the economic hardship on families, and we are glad the City has developed a SUB agreement to support these members," said Delbridge. "While layoffs during a pandemic are an extreme situation, we still need to do everything we can to protect and support our members."
CUPE 500 continues to call on the city to find creative ways to keep city staff working and providing services to the community.
As we learn more, we will keep members updated. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us via email: union@cupe500.mb.ca or phone: 204-942-1001.
Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan
Available Resources:
Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan
If you are affected by the temporary layoffs, there are financial resources available through the federal government:
- To determine if you are eligible to apply for the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and for further details about the application process please consult the CERB page.
- To determine if you are eligible to apply for employment insurance (EI) and for further details about the application process please consult the EI page.
Community Unemployed Help Centre
The Community Unemployed Help Centre provides information, assistance, advice, and representation to individuals dealing with the federal government's Employment Insurance program.
Phone: 204-942-6556 Toll Free: 1-866-942-6556 | Email: cuhc@cuhc.mb.ca
Phone: 204-942-6556 Toll Free: 1-866-942-6556 | Email: cuhc@cuhc.mb.ca
