The federal government is shutting the doors to all of its 317 Service Canada Centres – where people can apply in person for employment insurance, Old Age Security, pension benefits and passports – on Friday after employees en masse refused to work.
The government bent to pressure Thursday evening from the Canadian Employment and Immigration Union, which represents 17,000 Service Canada employees, including 3,360 who staff the centres.
Many had called in sick or refused to work because they didn’t feel safe during the coronavirus pandemic, despite safe distancing measures put in place that kept the centres open, said Crystal Warner, executive vice-president with the union.
The centres were crowded and efforts to control the traffic resulted in long lines outside and sometimes irate visitors, she said. In recent days, so many missed work that 187 centres closed on Thursday – almost 60 per cent of the network.
No comments:
Post a Comment