As you are aware, the provincial government introduced the COVID-19 Temporary Pandemic Pay (TPP) program in May 2020. The program provides a wage top up of $4 per hour to eligible community social services (CSS) workers for the period of March 15 to July 4, 2020.

The BCGEU lobbied aggressively for this program and other benefits including sick leave coverage, access to PPE and appropriate health and safety training and, while we were successful in securing the TPP for you, this benefit falls outside of your collective agreement and employers and provincial funders control the application, eligibility and disbursal processes.

The government has just recently reached out to employers with the application process. That means that much of the work remains to be done before the TPP is actually in the hands of workers. The provincial government website was updated recently to indicate that TPP payments to workers will likely occur in October. You can access the website here.

The Government website (updated to September 17) states that:

Eligible employees must have:

• Worked straight-time hours at any point during the 16-week period starting on March 15, 2020 and ending July 4, 2020
• Worked in an eligible sector, workplace and role that traditionally deliver in-person, front-line care in health, social services and corrections where social distancing was challenging, including those that may have had to transition from an on-site workplace to a remote format

According to the website, eligible roles in the CSS sector include:

• Community support workers
• Employment support workers
• Residence workers
• Adult/youth workers
• Transition house workers
• Stopping the violence counsellors
• Victim service workers
• Emergency shelter workers
• Program coordinators
• Counsellors
• Occupational and physical therapists
• Behavioural therapists
• Family preservation workers
• Domestic violence workers
• Social workers
• Child and youth mental health workers
• Indigenous service workers
• Administrative and client support roles
• Essential operation support staff, including:

o Maintenance workers
o Housekeepers
o Janitors
o Food service workers
o Passenger vehicle drivers
o Other key roles.

We encourage workers and, in particular, stewards to confirm with their employers that all straight time hours worked for these eligible positions from March 15 through July 4 receive the TPP top up. If there is any indication that you will not receive the TPP, involve your steward and, if necessary, a steward may consult with a staff representative.

In solidarity,

Andrea Duncan
Component 3 Vice President

Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP