TO HIRE SCABS
McGowan said he’s sent a letter to federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to look at closing what he describes as a loophole.
Edmonton Strathcona NDP MP Heather McPherson in a Wednesday news release said the federal government needs to change the funding rules to protect workers.
“We pushed the federal Liberals hard to create this 75 per cent wage subsidy to support workers and help businesses survive the pandemic,” she said in the release. “But giving Cessco federal COVID relief funds so they can continue to lock out their workers is not acceptable.”
Meanwhile, the situation at the picket line hasn’t always been peaceful.
Edmonton city police confirmed that a 36-year-old man was charged with causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon back in October at the plant along 99 Street.
MacDonald said the man charged was a union organizer. He said the matter is still before the courts but felt besides that incident, the situation has been relatively peaceful.
© Provided by Edmonton Journal Employees walk the picket line outside the CESSCO manufacturing plant Sept. 8, 2020 after being locked out by the company.
An Edmonton-based company’s use of COVID-19 relief funding in the midst of a lockout is being criticized by local unionized boilermakers and Alberta’s labour association.
Workers at Cessco Fabrication and Engineering Ltd. have been unable to work since June after negotiations with the company fell through earlier last year. The two sides have been trying to reach an agreement on a new contract for more than two years.
It was later discovered Cessco was receiving aid through the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The company is registered on the CEWS website, however, the site does not provide any additional details such as when Cessco started receiving the money.
Cessco president Dave Hummel, who previously described the labour dispute as a lockout/strike , said he would not be able to provide a statement before press time when asked by Postmedia on Wednesday.
Hugh MacDonald, business manager of the Boilermakers Lodge 146, said he learned about Cessco receiving relief funding while reading the newspaper on Dec. 20. He said the funding was not intended to be used by a company during a labour dispute.
“I think taxpayers in Canada deserve better,” MacDonald said. “I think they will be astonished to learn that a small portion of this money in this good program is being used in this way. We were quite willing to roll over the contract but Mr. Hummel has indicated that he is not interested in that. Mr. Hummel … is certainly willing to accept federal COVID relief money through the wage subsidy program to subsidize this union-busting campaign.”
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the lockout is the only one happening in the province at the moment and echoed MacDonald’s sentiments that using relief funding to hire non-union workers was inappropriate.
“They’re using this money to hire replacement workers at the expense of the company’s long-time employees who have been locked out now for months,” he said. “It’s important to keep in mind the workers who’ve been locked out are long-time employees. Some of them have been with the company for more than 40 years.”
Workers at Cessco Fabrication and Engineering Ltd. have been unable to work since June after negotiations with the company fell through earlier last year. The two sides have been trying to reach an agreement on a new contract for more than two years.
It was later discovered Cessco was receiving aid through the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The company is registered on the CEWS website, however, the site does not provide any additional details such as when Cessco started receiving the money.
Cessco president Dave Hummel, who previously described the labour dispute as a lockout/strike , said he would not be able to provide a statement before press time when asked by Postmedia on Wednesday.
Hugh MacDonald, business manager of the Boilermakers Lodge 146, said he learned about Cessco receiving relief funding while reading the newspaper on Dec. 20. He said the funding was not intended to be used by a company during a labour dispute.
“I think taxpayers in Canada deserve better,” MacDonald said. “I think they will be astonished to learn that a small portion of this money in this good program is being used in this way. We were quite willing to roll over the contract but Mr. Hummel has indicated that he is not interested in that. Mr. Hummel … is certainly willing to accept federal COVID relief money through the wage subsidy program to subsidize this union-busting campaign.”
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the lockout is the only one happening in the province at the moment and echoed MacDonald’s sentiments that using relief funding to hire non-union workers was inappropriate.
“They’re using this money to hire replacement workers at the expense of the company’s long-time employees who have been locked out now for months,” he said. “It’s important to keep in mind the workers who’ve been locked out are long-time employees. Some of them have been with the company for more than 40 years.”
McGowan said he’s sent a letter to federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to look at closing what he describes as a loophole.
Edmonton Strathcona NDP MP Heather McPherson in a Wednesday news release said the federal government needs to change the funding rules to protect workers.
“We pushed the federal Liberals hard to create this 75 per cent wage subsidy to support workers and help businesses survive the pandemic,” she said in the release. “But giving Cessco federal COVID relief funds so they can continue to lock out their workers is not acceptable.”
Meanwhile, the situation at the picket line hasn’t always been peaceful.
Edmonton city police confirmed that a 36-year-old man was charged with causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon back in October at the plant along 99 Street.
MacDonald said the man charged was a union organizer. He said the matter is still before the courts but felt besides that incident, the situation has been relatively peaceful.
No comments:
Post a Comment