Canada: Sobeys closure bumped up a month
“It’s nothing earthshattering by any stretch, but it’s something that we’re pleased to be able to negotiate for those members,” United food and Commercial Workers Local 1400 president Norm Neault said. “I think it lifts their spirits up somewhat … It gives them a little bit of security until the end of Sept. 25, anyway.”
The union has also negotiated one week of severance pay per year of service and workplace adjustment programs, which will provide resume writing and job search skills, as well as link employees up with Service Canada.
When it comes to employment insurance, “many of them have probably never applied for it,” Neault noted.
The extra month easing in period was decided at a meeting on Tuesday between the union, the employer and a couple representative committee members from the Prince Albert and Moose Jaw stores.
With an extra five weeks’ of paid leave to find alternative employment, laid off employees have an extra leg up, Neault said, noting that while this is good news for store staff it pales in comparison to the negative blow dealt by Sobeys’ closure notice.
It’s nothing earthshattering by any stretch, but it’s something that we’re pleased to be able to negotiate for those members. Norm Neault
On June 27, about 70 employees in Prince Albert and between 60 to 65 in Moose Jaw were given pink slips. The two stores’ closure is linked with Sobeys Inc.’s $5.8 billion purchase of Safeway Inc. in 2013.
"Really, it's part of our regular business process … on a regular basis, we evaluate our operations, store network and performance and determine if we're at where we need to be," said Keri Scobie, a spokesperson for the company, explained at the time. "When we looked across the network, these stores were under-performing … the decision was made to close them."
Source: paherald.sk.ca
