It’s time to bring pandemic pay back at Superstore
Your Bargaining Committee ran into some roadblocks with negotiations in September and October, which is to be expected. The most challenging part of negotiations is often when the employer introduces arbitrary and authoritarian policies or proposals.
To date, the Company had been receptive to discussions and we had made reasonable progress on several fronts. However, Loblaws has proven distinctly uncooperative on their new discipline policy.
Loblaws should be measuring all disciplines against the high-stress environment created by COVID-19, and using that backdrop to mitigate their approach. Unfortunately, that is not what Loblaws has done.
Instead, they have cut the discipline process in half. This could have dire consequences for many of our members.
Your union and Bargaining Committee have pushed back hard on this policy change. Consequently, Loblaws has backed down on their implementation. But we know that this fight is not over.
Loblaws has also missed the mark on health and safety and pandemic (essential service or hazard) pay.
Loblaws has seen record sales figures rolling in over the course of the pandemic. And while the Company initially implemented pandemic pay to recognize the extraordinary risks their workers had taken contributing to those sales, they were also the first to revoke the premiums.
But Superstore union members continue to shoulder exceptional challenges while ensuring that Albertans are able to access the food they need. The risks have not gone away.
With case numbers the highest they have been to date in Alberta the reality is that Superstore members are feeling the effects of working through the pandemic more acutely than ever.
Your union and Bargaining Committee are committed to bringing these issues up at the bargaining table as we work to represent your interests.
That’s why your union has launched a campaign to tell Loblaws and other grocery companies: it’s time to bring pandemic pay back!
We won’t sit idly by watching them get rich while you take all the risks.
We’ll be sending you another update with instructions on how you can add your voice to our call. Companies like Loblaws need to step up to increase safety protections and reinstate pandemic premiums for essential workers immediately.
Help make sure that when we head back to the bargaining table, Loblaws knows that this is not an issue they can dodge.
Superstore union members deserve to be fairly compensated for the risks they continue to take and the contributions they’ve made to the Company’s success.
Posted on: November 12,2020