April 3, 2020
IBEW 2034 - COVID-19 Update April 3/2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers;
I hope you and your loved ones are all doing well. I want to thank each and every one of our members for their dedicated service through this difficult and unprecedented period of time. The health and safety of you, your family, and your communities are the most important thing and I urge everyone to take all necessary precautions and safeguards.
We have received numerous concerns from staff, and we are committed to challenging the corporation through various means to address those issues in as timely a manner as possible. Thanks to everyone for keeping and continuing to keep us apprised of issues as they develop. I also want to thank our shop stewards and executive who have been important points of contact with many of our font line staff helping to bring us perspective and resolve these important issues.
As many of you are aware, we have been collaborating with the corporation to temporarily modify and change hours of work/shifts while considering corporate and employee needs with the intent to minimize possible exposure to COVID-19. I realize that some of these alternate schedules/arrangements may be inconvenient for some, but in most cases benefit most of the workgroups involved. I want to thank all staff involved in the process.
With the recent announcement of school closures on March 31st, there has been an increasing level of concern from our front-line staff who may not have the flexibility to work from home and tend to their childcare obligations. To date, the corporation has allowed everyone in the corporation the ability to use up to 6 FRL days to be used to meet childcare obligations. It is unlikely that staff who have the opportunity to work at home will need to use this benefit. We realize that this can be a heavy burden for our front-line staff who must in some cases pay out of pocket for childcare that they were not anticipating or go to lengthy measures to ensure childcare. I urge staff that are having difficulty meeting parental obligations to contact their supervisor ASAP to discuss alternatives. We believe that the corporation has an obligation to consider all creative alternatives staff may have to meet this most important obligation. Some of these may include working alternate hours (different start and end times or breaking up the day), working alternate days like days off (ex: , Sundays, Mondays off) , increasing work hours (ex: going from 8-12 hr days) to name a few examples. If your alternatives are not given the consideration they deserve, contact IBEW 2034 and we will proceed with the matter on your behalf.
I know there have been rumours of layoffs. I have reached out to the corporations’ executive and they reassure us that there is no plan for layoffs. We believe that as a result of your dedication, cooperation, flexibility, and creativity our staff are well positioned to avoid any layoffs in the upcoming weeks and potentially months ahead.
Effective March 26, 2020, as a precaution to help stop the spread of COVID-19 we have been restricting any access to our office at 1907 Portage Avenue. This change will stay in effect for the time being and updates will be provided as changes occur. We have and will continue to follow up on your concerns. The office staff will remain available by phone and email to complete as many tasks as possible. Please call the office at 204-944-2034 or email ibew@ibew2034.com with questions to see if what you need can be accomplished on the phone or online.
THANK YOU for your patience, understanding, and for everything that you’re doing to help – whether you’re at home working, on stand-by, or on the front lines. ALL OF YOU are necessary and play a vital role in helping provide and maintain important services to Manitoba. As this continues to evolve, it is vital that we work together to protect each other and to maintain the services that we all rely on. Your dedication, flexibility, and creativity truly need to be commended.
We appreciate your cooperation as we all work through this unique situation.
In solidarity,
Mike Espenell
Business Manager
IBEW 2034
