Labour leaders claim Ottawa risking incomes

Thousands of local workers are losing income support and could be on the hook for big repayments to the federal taxman due to income from Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) plans being in conflict with the current Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) guidelines.

“These long-established benefits were the result of workers standing up for fairness and respect for decades in tough negotiations during difficult times,” said Unifor Local 200 president John D’agnolo.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday with local MP Brian Masse (NDP, Windsor West), D’agnolo, who represents local Ford autoworkers, said that “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.”

One union source said some Windsor autoworkers laid off from factories idled due to COVID-19 could be losing $400 or more a week in supplemental support payments.

For workers who have been paying into the system, and whose unions had bargained with employers over decades to gain supplemental unemployment benefits, “it’s going to create quite a bit of duress,” said Masse.

He said a series of letters had been sent over the past six weeks to the government, including to Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. Masse said he has also raised the issue with Windsor-tecumseh Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk.

“They have just not responded, which is bizarre,” said Masse. “All that’s required is a small regulatory change.”

When contacted Thursday, Kusmierczyk told the Star that “we’re definitely hearing the concerns of the workers in Windsor,” and that he has raised the subject with Qualtrough, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and other caucus colleagues.

“I’ve heard those frustrations, and I continue to advocate,” he said, adding he’s had a number of discussions on the subject with Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy.

Adding to the consternation felt by local workers is that someone covered by SUB and laid off before March 15 due to a workplace closure triggered by COVID -19 would have been eligible for Employment Insurance and the SUB top-up, providing a 65 per cent replacement of gross wages.

That same worker laid off after March 15, however, would be covered under the new federal CERB ($2,000 per month) but not be eligible for any SUB top-up.

Even without the SUB, D’agnolo said that, for the average Ford worker in Windsor, getting CERB means an $83 per week reduction over the weekly maximum available EI payment. Changing the criteria to permit SUB payments on top of CERB would cost the federal government and Canadian taxpayers nothing, he added.

“At the bargaining table, workers gave up other things to get this (SUB),” said Masse.

Depending on a worker’s monthly income, he said workers are also at risk of having to eventually repay their entire CERB payment. Recipients are permitted to earn up to $1,000 on top of the $2,000 monthly cheque, but earning more than the $1,000 limit means having to repay the entire CERB grant.

“Down the road, the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) is going to review who received the payments,” said Kusmierczyk.

SUB provides income stability and directly benefits those workers and local businesses during tough economic times.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias has also been lobbying Ottawa to make the regulatory change.

D’agnolo said Ford and Fiat Chrysler support their employees getting the supplemental unemployment benefit.

A spokesperson for Qualtrough told the Star on Thursday that the federal Liberal government’s “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.”

Marielle Hossack, the minister’s press secretary, said in an email that the CERB, including the provision allowing up to $1,000 in earnings during a four-week period, was established to maximize the number of Canadians who can be helped “during these trying times.”

As of Thursday, Kusmierczyk noted, more than 11 million Canadians — that’s more than half the national workforce — have had their submitted CERB applications processed by the federal government.

“Because of the simplified design of the CERB, the employer top-up provisions that exist under the Employment Insurance system do not apply,” Hossack told the Star.

Masse said “the urgency to remove the uncertainty and fix this problem has been known for more than six weeks.

“The minister has failed to act. Leaving thousands of workers to be exposed to this risk during a public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Kusmierczyk added: “I’ve been raising this regularly — this is an important issue for our region.”