WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor-West MP Brian Masse joined Unifor leaders in a call for changes to CERB regulations.
He said thousands of autoworkers are penalized for claiming negotiated supplemental unemployment benefits.
Masse, along with Unifor Local 200 President John D’DAgnolo and Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy held a news conference Thursday morning concerning the issue they say is negatively impacting autoworkers.
“These long-established benefits were the result of workers standing up for fairness and respect for decades in tough negotiations during difficult times,” said D’Agnolo. “Without the government making a few simple rule changes these hard-won gains are put at risk. Workers and their families’ economic lives are made more precarious.”
Under present CERB regulations, recipients cannot receive payments from their supplemental unemployment benefit plans, which have been negotiated with employers and are registered with Service Canada, without being subject to potential penalties which could include repayment of all CERB funds.
Masse says the government has been notified about this specific issue repeatedly over the last six weeks.
The Minister of Employment Carla Qualtrough has received three separate letters.
On March 27, NDP Employment critic Daniel Blaikie wrote Qualtrough a comprehensive letter on many concerns with regards to the CERB.
On April 15, Unifor’s President Jerry Diaz along with the bargaining chairs for GM, FCA, and Ford, including D’Agnolo, sent a letter outlining this issue and proposed regulatory changes to address it.
On April 23, Masse wrote a letter to the minister highlighting the changes the government had made to the CERB to solve other problems and identified the need to correct this issue and supporting the specific regulatory changes needed to do so.
“The urgency to remove the uncertainty and fix this problem has been known for more than six weeks,” said Masse. “The Minister has failed to act. Leaving thousands of workers to be exposed to this risk during a public health emergency caused by the COVID19 pandemic.”
A statement from the office of the Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion was sent in response to CTV News inquiries Thursday evening.
It reads in part, "Because of the simplified design of the CERB, the employer top-up provisions that exist under the Employment Insurance system do not apply. Our priority is to make sure all Canadians have the support they need and we will continue working with our partners across the country to do so.”
