Thursday, April 9, 2020

CLAC Responds to Hanover School Division Layoffs

Winnipeg—CLAC, the union representing the educational assistants and custodial staff at Hanover School Division, is confident laid-off workers will still benefit from protections in their collective agreement.

“This pandemic situation is clearly not ideal,” said Geoff Dueck Thiessen, CLAC’s Winnipeg Regional Director. “Our position, which we made known to HSD, is that we wanted our members to be kept on the payroll and working. HSD has explored this and has decided that it’s not the best option.

“We appreciate that HSD worked with us on the details, and we were able to have some influence on decisions and communication of those decisions to our members.”

The affected workers will be eligible for funds from the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit. “We’re pleased the CERB program is going to be there for our members,” said Dueck Thiessen.

A strong collective agreement continues to provide some security for employees.

“The future is uncertain for everyone right now,” said Dueck Thiessen. When will school life return to normal? What lasting impacts will the Covid-19 crisis have on society and the workplace? We don’t know.

“But our members do have a collective agreement which defines their job security. Specifically, it prescribes a path for layoff, recall and job postings, and offers a comprehensive health benefit option that will serve our members during layoff. And that should bring some comfort and assrance that, despite some unknowns, there are also some important things we do know.”

CLAC Responds to Hanover School Division Layoffs

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