Vancouver and District Labour Council Outlines Emergency Action Needed for Working People and Families
The Vancouver and District Labour Council
Executive
Board recognizes the danger posed by the present COVID-19 pandemic. The
virus poses a serious risk to many in our workplaces and communities,
and we applaud all measures to flatten the curve of this pandemic and
prevent its further spread.
![](http://www.cpcml.ca/images2020/WorkersEconomy/Transportation/200315-BCFerriesCleanersWinUnioncr.jpg)
Cleaners aboard BC Ferries who are on the
front lines of protecting
ferry workers and passengers, win union recognition, March 15, 2020, in
the midst of the
pandemic.
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We recently announced our decision to cancel our
March
regular meeting in response to COVID-19. We are also cancelling all
meetings to be held in our office space until further notice. We will
continue to monitor the situation and assess the advisability of
hosting other planned events. As our next upcoming Labour Education
courses are
scheduled in May and June, we are not anticipating the cancellation of
these events at this time, however we will monitor the situation and
notify registrants of any changes closer to that time.
We also want to take a moment to recognize the
efforts
of all front-line workers, with a special thanks to medical personnel
and first responders who are on the front lines of addressing potential
cases of COVID-19 and protecting the well-being of patients and the
public.
But the pandemic poses a danger to more than our
health.
The financial well-being of working people is also at risk, exacerbated
by previously existing affordability and housing crises. Today untold
numbers of working people are at risk of not being able to put food on
their tables, pay their rents or mortgages, and other hardships with
potentially disastrous consequences.
While the Federal
government announced $10 billion
in
aid available to businesses through the Business Development Bank of
Canada, direct aid to working people has yet to be seen. A few days
ago, we called upon the BC government, through the Minister of Labour,
to enact paid sick leave so that workers who are feeling unwell, or are
required to self-isolate, are protected. Action on this is critical to
ensuring that workers are not forced by economic necessity to attend
work while ill and put themselves and others at increased risk.
We are calling upon all levels of government to
cooperate in implementing an emergency program for workers, including:
- Paid sick
leave for all workers, including paid leave for all workers who are
quarantined, or required to self-isolate;
- An immediate moratorium on all evictions;
- An immediate moratorium on rent and mortgage payments for workers
quarantined or required to self-isolate in relation to COVID-19; and
- Removal of the waiting period
for workers accessing Employment Insurance as a result of
COVID-19-related layoffs.
We note that as this situation rapidly develops,
additional consequences continue to reveal themselves. Therefore, it
should be acknowledged that further actions may yet be needed from
government.
Robust, proactive measures aimed at containing the
spread of the virus and bold steps to protect the housing and economic
well-being of working people are both urgently needed to ensure the
best possible recovery from this pandemic. Now is the time for
government to act.
This article was published in
![](http://cpcml.ca/WF2019/Articles/WFBanner300.jpg)
Number 12 - March 18, 2020
Article Link:
Vancouver and District Labour Council Outlines Emergency Action Needed for Working People and Families
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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