The Pallister government’s plan to cut jobs at Manitoba Hydro to “free up” money to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic makes no sense whatsoever.
Despite claims by the premier that he has no choice but to reduce costs in some parts of government to help pay for things such as personal protective equipment, testing and contact tracing, laying off workers at Hydro will do nothing of the kind. Read More . . .
CUPE, IBEW and several other unions from across the city came together today to join the rally today in protest of the government’s announcement of possible workweek reductions and the possibility of layoffs that would affect many Manitobans including Manitoba Hydro. Hundreds took part in a HONK YOUR HORN tour around the legislative grounds from 12-1 today. NDP Leader Wab Kinew and Liberal Leader Dugald Lamont came out to support the protest.
While no decisions have been made and Manitoba Hydro is still waiting to hear from the government. CUPE hopes that the government heard us and decides against unnecessary cutbacks during this COVID-19 pandemic.
CUPE continues to advocate for full employment and will continue to advocate in the best interests of members to the employer and government.
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Join us on May Day (May 1, 2020) as we tell Brian Pallister to invest in our communities!
By cutting jobs and social services that people desperately rely on, the Pallister government is hurting Manitoba. These cuts will hurt vulnerable Manitobans the most and are out of step with what economists, academics, other governments and community agencies recommend to maintain a stable economy and position Manitoba properly for the post-pandemic future.
We are protesting these cuts. We support community, not cuts.
LET US MAKE SOME NOISE
**Socially-Distanced Action at the Legislative Building on May 1st, 12pm: a Honk-a-thon and Signs! **
By cutting jobs and social services that people desperately rely on, the Pallister government is hurting Manitoba. These cuts will hurt vulnerable Manitobans the most and are out of step with what economists, academics, other governments and community agencies recommend to maintain a stable economy and position Manitoba properly for the post-pandemic future.
We are protesting these cuts. We support community, not cuts.
If you want to see our government make better choices,
Last week, with extremely short notice, CUPE was advised by the Pallister government about their desire to reduce the cost of the so-called “non-essential” public sector workforce by 10-30 percent. Unions and employers were initially informed about the plan through a provincial news release. Read more …..
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Friends,
Yesterday the Legislature sat for an emergency session to deal with COVID-19 related measures. Unfortunately, the Pallister government started off by trying to ram through legislation unrelated to the pandemic, including a bill that weakens protections for Manitoba pension plans, and a bill that guts the Public Utilities Board and consolidates power over hydro and car insurance rates in the hands of the Premier. Thankfully, the NDP Official Opposition was able to block these and other bills that will hurt working families from moving any further.
Included in the COVID-19 related legislation yesterday was the passage of an amendment to the Employment Standards Code which provides unlimited job-protected leave for workers who need to take time off work due to COVID-19, to self-isolate, care for loved ones, and other reasons. This bill also waives the requirement to provide a doctor’s note in order to take leave. The bill follows the consensus advice of the Labour Management Review Committee and we are glad to see that the Pallister government listened to our advice.
However, we are disappointed to see that they are still refusing to listen to the calls from labour, business, and working Manitobans to provide income support and paid leave for Manitobans being impacted by COVID-19. Manitoba is the only province in Canada that is not providing any income supports to working families in response to the pandemic.
The government has responded to calls from Manitoba’s health care unions to provide 14 days of paid administrative leave for health care workers who are sent home due to possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. This is an important measure and we’re encouraging the government to extend this paid leave to all workers.
We’re also deeply concerned with Pallister’s new threat to slash public services and layoff, public sector workers. Manitoba families and our economy are relying on keeping as many people working as possible through this crisis. Pallister’s plan to cut services and jobs will make things worse and hurt our economic recovery. Now more than ever we need to focus on helping people, not just the bottom line.
Stay safe!
In Solidarity,
Kevin Rebeck
President of the Manitoba Federation of Labour
