UPDATE (Feb. 23) – We have received confirmation from Tammy Hofer, the CEO of Alberta Precision Labs, that all HSAA members who meet the threshold of 300 hours of work between Oct. 12, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2021 will receive the $1,200 Critical Worker Benefit.
We are still waiting to hear about DynaLIFEDX who needed to apply for the benefit separately.
We want to update you on federal Critical Worker Benefit (CWB).
Facts have been hard to come by, but here’s what we know as of today.
After more than nine months of delay and relentless lobbying by HSAA, the provincial government has announced it will be accessing the federal funds set aside for critical, front-line workers. This means all front-line health workers should be eligible for a one-time payment of $1200.00.
The province is now developing an “eligibility list” to determine who will ultimately get the CWB.
AHS and Covenant have assured us that all unionized members will receive this benefit provided they meet the 300-hour threshold worked between October 12, 2020 and January 31, 2021. While we believe this arbitrary minimum leaves behind some who need this benefit the most, it seems unlikely that the government is going to move on this, despite our protests.
Our staff has been working diligently with our private employers to ensure they apply for the benefit on their employees’ behalf and have made excellent progress on that front. We have learned that our EMS workers who work for private companies will be eligible.
We are currently waiting on confirmation that members working for Alberta Precision Labs and DynaLIFEDX are included. We are expecting this to be the case, but if, for some unknown reason, you are excluded, we will need to all work together to raise holy hell. Why this is still unclear is a mystery to us.
We believe that our advocacy will ensure that greater than 90% of our membership will receive the benefit. We want this to be 100% so if you have been excluded, please contact your Labour Relations officer as soon as possible so that we can advocate on your behalf.
We will continue to update you as information is received.
In Solidarity,
Mike and Trudy
