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IAMAW | Canada Emergency Response Benefit – What you need to know
Over the last couple of weeks the federal government has made announcements about benefits available through the EI program for workers. Until recently, workers could access, in addition to regular benefits, the EI Sickness Benefit and the Emergency Care Benefit. These two programs have now been merged into the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The Canada…
EFAP UPDATE FOR IAMAW MEMBERS
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
On April 28, 2022, PDGC Dave Flowers and I met with Air Canada regarding EAP Funding. Due to a change made by the Government of Canada, Air Canada and the IAMAW no longer qualify for the Government’s Employee Insurance Reduction Plan. The EI Reduction plan has funded the EFAP for the past 20 years.
Before January of 2021, companies applying for the EI Reduction required a Short-Term Disability plan (STD) that commenced after the fourteenth day of leave. The Government changed the eligibility to those companies with STD programs that begin after the seventh day. For this reason, the EFAP did not receive funding for the 2021 year.
For many years, our members have enjoyed the comfort of chatting to a peer for assistance with their concerns. Sometimes this was a need to vent about the work environment. Other members’ needs were far more intricate and required the help of a professional. The EFAP has helped our members at all hours without fail, and the team of caring individuals wants to continue to support our friends and colleagues. Currently, there is enough funding to continue our EFAP work. However, our program will terminate early next year without additional EI Reduction monies. I have met with the Negotiations Committee about their thoughts on bargaining to change our current STD to the required seven days. I didn’t receive any indication if the committee would pursue this line of negotiation or not. Also, I am not sure that Air Canada will want to negotiate this item.
Air Canada has offered to add IAMAW members to the company-funded EAP they use. The program consists of LifeWorks and Maple’s online app. LifeWorks is an equal program to Homewood, and Maple is essentially a 24/7 online medical walk-in clinic. We are unaware if the union members you know, and trust, will have a role in this program. Given our forty-plus years of working with our members, I believe our program exceeds anything the company can offer.
I realize this bulletin may generate many questions. Questions that we may not have the answers to right now. I will continue to update as I have more information. Today, we are business as usual, and your EFAP is still available to you for the foreseeable future.
In Solidarity,
Derrick Bashford
National EFAP Coordinator Transportation District 140, IAMAWHarvest Manitoba Online Donation
CLICK HERE TO DONATE Season’s greetings from your Human Rights and Women’s Committee This past year has been hard on everyone. For those less fortunate it has been an exceptionally difficult year and more than ever, Manitoba Harvest (formally Winnipeg Harvest) needs our support and generosity to continue helping hungry children, hardworking families and struggling…
