As we stated in our November 30th bulletin to you, we are aware of the ongoing delay of the Provincial Government's Temporary Pandemic Pay (TPP) at certain Community Social Services (CSS) worksites around the province. The President and BCGEU representatives conferenced with various ministry officials several times over the last two weeks to get answers and a timeline for distribution of the TPP. 

On December 14th, in response to pressure from the BCGEU, Government acknowledged that this delay was unacceptable, apologized for the delay, and assured us that all TPP funds will be distributed to CSS employers. Their full response is captured at:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/temporary-pandemic-pay
 
We share your frustration in these unacceptable delays and we will continue to pressure Government to get the TPP to you as soon as possible.

Government is providing additional resources to ensure that TPP applications are processed as quickly as possible. We are encouraged that since our entreaties to Government, we have seen an increase in the distribution of TPP to many more CSS agencies. Once in your employer's hands, it is up to individual employers to distribute the TPP to you. We are further encouraged that many employers are also making the distribution a priority.
 
We will continue to monitor the distribution of the TPP to our members and to press Government to keep this as a priority.

Thank you again for the important work you do for our communities around British Columbia.

Andrea Duncan
Vice President, Component 3

UWU/MoveUP