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May 27 2020
TORONTO– Unifor’s National President and local union leaders will be speaking out tomorrow to highlight an unfair gap in the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) that is hurting thousands of workers in the auto, rail, marine, steel, aerospace, health care and other sectors.
“The flaw is that laid off workers who are receiving the CERB are barred from also receiving the Supplement Unemployment Benefits (SUB) negotiated in collective agreements with their employer,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “The whole purpose of SUB is to provide laid off workers with additional income, over and above, benefits received through the government. By preventing SUB payments, the government is effectively reducing the amount of income workers otherwise would receive while laid off. In some cases this is upwards of $600 per week. The federal government’s position on SUB is ludicrous.”
Major employers including General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have all notified the government they are willing to pay the SUB to their employees but government red tape continues to withhold dollars from workers financially struggling during the pandemic.
Members of the media are invited to watch the livestream news conference tomorrow morning on Unifor’s Facebook page.
What: Virtual News Conference
Who: Jerry Dias, Unifor National President
Beth Couchman, President, Unifor Local 5555
John D'Agnolo, President, Unifor Local 200
Jennifer Murray, Chair Unifor Rail Council
When: 11 am ET, Thursday, May 28, 2020
Where: Live on Unifor’s Facebook page.
Journalists can submit questions during the live stream by email to @email and we will do our best to answer them live on Facebook.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector and represents 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
For media inquiries or to arrange interviews via phone, Skype or FaceTime, please contact Unifor’s Director of Communications, Natalie Clancy at Natalie.Clancy@unifor.org or 416-707-5794 (cell).
