Wage subsidies for strikebreakers and no premium pay at the LCBO -- Dispatches from the bailouts

Locked out co-op workers picket in January

In yet more evidence that the coronavirus bailouts in Canada are being constructed to heavily favour the interests of big business and the corporations, Unifor is calling out the federal government for a loophole in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) that allows it to be used to subsidize scab labour. 

There is apparently nothing in the legislation (Bill C-14) that prevents companies from using the wage subsidy of up to $847 per week per employee to hire or contract out for strikebreakers. Using scabs during strikes -- which should be made illegal at all times -- undermines collective bargaining and the power of workers. When profitable corporations can continue to operate during a strike, they have little incentive to bargain in good faith.

Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, said "Companies that have chosen to use scabs to prolong labour disputes should not benefit from the scarce emergency funds designed to help legitimately struggling businesses and organizations. COVID-19 financial support should not be used to weaken workers' bargaining power."

This should be perfectly obvious, but governments are much more interested in keeping the economy going than they are in treating workers fairly.

In its press release Unifor points to:

...the example of Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) in Saskatchewan, where the company has locked out refinery workers for 144 days and has flown in scab labourers and housed them in cramped conditions. The local community has expressed concern that the scab camp is a health risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
FCL recently rejected recommendations to end the dispute from independent mediators appointed by the provincial government. Unifor says employers like these can't be rewarded with federal CEWS funds.
"Co-op's repeated refusal to compromise has been made possible by its use of scabs," said Dias. "If those scabs are subsidized with federal CEWS cash, the government will further tip the balance in favour of a company that saw over $2 billion in profits between 2018 and 2019."

Meanwhile in Ontario, despite the publicly owned alcohol retailer the LCBO having been deemed an "essential service" thereby forcing its workers to work under dangerous conditions, LCBO management is refusing calls for a pandemic pay premium.

It was recently announced that frontline healthcare workers would receive a $4.00 an hour wage increase -- long overdue though likely only temporary -- but LCBO workers are not getting any extra pay even though the LCBO is bringing in "record sales" according to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) that represents them.

In an OPSEU press release:

First Vice-President/Treasurer Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida says the rot at the LCBO starts at the top, pointing out that LCBO President and CEO, Dr. George Soleas, takes home a reported annual salary of $560K plus benefits.
"Mr. Soleas is sitting comfortably in his ivory tower, making record profits off the backs of hardworking employees who are risking their lives," says Almeida. "Since the LCBO has seen a windfall in profits during this pandemic, Soleas and all the other LCBO managers are anticipating hefty bonuses, while all the essential workers get is a sneering brush off."

This is clearly wrong, especially given that the LCBO is public.

Always remember that "We are all in this together" is more rhetoric than reality.