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COVID-19 Information & Resources

Not sure where to start? Read the Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19 (March 28, 2020) or select the resource you need from the list below.

Political Action

Wages and Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions about Income Supports and Sickness Leave

Health and Safety

Public Health Canada is your most reliable source for medical information about COVID-19 prevention measures, symptoms, and preparedness plans. You will find a complete list of resources including updates on the government’s responses on their website.

Resources for Local Unions

  • Template letter to employers and managers. If your employer or workplace manager has not yet taken action to address the COVID-19 pandemic, use this template letter to request a meeting or modified workplace practices to ensure the health and safety of all workers.
  • Financial Supports for Local Unions with Paid Staff – Get the factsheet
  • Financial supports for local unions that rent offices, own buildings, or pay a mortgage – Get the factsheet

Know the Difference: Self-monitoring, Self-Isolation, and Isolation for COVID-19

phac-eng-handwashing

 

Don’t reward unethical employers using scabs – letter to the Prime Minister

REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR COVID-19

British Columbia Centre for Disease Control

Alberta Health Services

Saskatchewan Health Authority

Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living

Public Health Ontario

Quebec Health

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia Government

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundland and Labrador

Yukon Health and Wellness

Nunavut 

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In Solidarity with Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

In Solidarity with Nova Scotia

In the wake of this week’s horrific act of terror in Nova Scotia, our Unifor family expresses our heartfelt sympathies to the families, loved ones and friends of the victims.

Our thoughts are with all Nova Scotians left heartbroken, devastated and reeling from the targeted and random violence perpetrated this past weekend.

As each hour passes, we learn more about the victims. Health care workers on the front lines fighting COVID-19. A teacher. A retired firefighter. Public servants. Mothers. Daughters. Fathers. Sons. Grandparents. Dear friends. Volunteers. And a veteran RCMP officer, killed in the line of duty.

We grieve with all of you. We have cried with you and will do so again as we all continue to process this terrible moment. We also send our love and solidarity.

In a small province where practically everyone knows everyone, where community is something that is practiced every day, we know this horrendous violent act and the heartbreak it has rendered is felt deeply and will be for a very long time.

We hope the very characteristics that have made Nova Scotia such a vibrant and beautiful place in our country will be the foundation for healing. That sense of community and hospitality. The deep-rooted friendships and closeness. The working-class spirit. The solidarity, love and connectedness.

COVID-19 means we must find new ways to be close, to connect, to support each other especially during this darkest of times. We can and must do this, as every Nova Scotia family did on Monday night, April 20, with the lighting of candles.

Please know there are supports for anyone who needs them. Please reach out and use the resources for Unifor members at unifor.org/COVID19mentalhealth.

Remember the victims and their families. Amplify their voices, their names, their lives. We will honour them by continuing to advocate for safer workplaces at protectnsfrontline.ca, as was the request of the family of Kristen Beaton, an NSGEU sister slain this week.

As a union with 12,000 members working in nearly every sector of the Nova Scotia economy, we stand with Nova Scotians in solidarity and grief.

Rise Again, Nova Scotia. Rise Again.

In Solidarity,

Jerry Dias Lana Payne Linda MacNeil
National President National Secretary-Treasurer Atlantic Regional Director

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Day of Mourning 2020

mourning Unifor

On April 28, Unifor joins workers across Canada to commemorate those injured or killed on the job. Collectively we are solemnly reminded that more needs to be done to protect the health and safety of workers – a particularly significant message during the crisis we face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we pause to reflect on the tragic, traumatizing and needless loss of life due to workplace injury and occupational disease, we also respond to the deaths that could have been avoided had employers and governments adequately responded to the current crisis. Essential frontline workers, particularly those in health care, are most at risk of contracting COVID-19. Unifor continues to fight for necessary prevention plans to save lives and minimize the risk of exposure to the virus by frontline workers across Canada.

We also take the time to remember workers across the globe who went to work and did not come home, especially the frontline workers who put their lives at risk everyday to serve the public, and those who are fighting for change.

Labour activists across Canada are demanding that employers take workers’ health and safety concerns much more seriously and that all levels of government reinforce the vital right to refuse unsafe work. Now more than ever before, the voice of workers must be heard and listened to, and acted upon.

The best way to control any hazard is to systematically eliminate or remove it from the workplace, rather than relying on workers to reduce their personal exposure. The hierarchy of controls must prevail in order to protect workers in all workplaces, regardless of size or location.  Since science on COVID19 is uncertain, we must follow “the precautionary principle” and err on the side of caution.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a vibrant light on prevention shortcomings. Workers are leading the movement, and calls-to-action, for safer workplaces. Today we thank them for their commitment to creating safe workplaces for all.

As we reflect on the importance of the day, the union will also pause to remember three Unifor members who lost their lives at work since last year’s Day of Mourning:

  • John Iles | Local 222 Canada Cartage | December 23, 2019.
  • Mohammed Hasan Bhai | Local 40 HBC Logistics | February 12, 2020

TAKE ACTION

  • Share these images to your social media accounts to help spread awareness

Day of Mourning Shareable 1 (EN) Day of Mourning Shareable 2 (EN) Day of Mourning Shareable 3 (EN)

 

 

 

 

  • Observe a minute of silence at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 to honour those who have died
  • Join our Unifor team for the virtual walk “Steps for Life” to honour loved ones who died on the job

On April 28th fight for the living, and mourn for the dead.

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Unifor members in Thunder Bay to help make 18,000 ventilators

Unifor members at Local 1075 are getting ready to manufacture parts for urgently needed ventilators at the Bombardier plant that usually manufactures bilevel GO Trains, streetcars and subway trains.

“Our highly skilled workforce is more than capable to step up and make this life saving equipment needed to battle COVID-19,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

As many as 50 members are being recalled from layoff announced last month because of the pandemic.

They will begin producing parts starting next week for a ventilator company.

“To have 455 members back at work, doing such important work to help health care workers save lives is a proud moment for our local,” said Dominic Pasqualino, President of Unifor Local 1075.

Bombardier’s contract with Brampton’s O-Two Medical Technologies means Unifor members will do sanding, painting and assembly work on the e700 portable ventilators for the Ontario government. The ventilators are key in the treatment of COVID-19 as they deliver oxygen to patients when their lungs no longer can.

“The initial contract says we will produce 18,000 of these ventilators required for our hospitals and long term care homes,” said Pasqualino. “And we would welcome more of this work if needed.”

Unifor members will also assemble display screens and install battery boxes before shipping the ventilators to O-Two for final assembly and testing.

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Bell accelerating rural Internet rollout in response to COVID-19

  • Rolling out broadband Wireless Home Internet service to approximately 137,000 more homes than anticipated by the end of April
  • Keeping Canada connected: Bell team stays ahead of increasing usage by consumers, businesses, governments and first responders with investment in connections and capacity across our networks

MONTRÉAL, April 23, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – Bell today announced that it has accelerated the rollout of its new Wireless Home Internet (WHI) service in rural Canada as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis, and is on track to reach 137,000 more homes than originally planned by the end of this month.

“Bell’s Wireless Home Internet program is dedicated to bringing full broadband Internet speeds to rural communities and other traditionally underserved locations. And with WHI usage growing 40% over the last month, the COVID-19 crisis has clearly underscored the value of the service to customers in smaller communities,” said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. “With the scale of our operations and the depth of our team, Bell is a company uniquely positioned to lead the way in delivering high-speed Internet access to rural Canada. Our accelerated rollout to 137,000 additional rural households in 180 individual communities this month is both an immediate response to COVID-19 and part of our work to connect even more rural Canadians for generations to come.”

Read the article here…