Susan Norman, Westman Area Council Representative
Prairie Region Council
October 2012
It’s too bad that the current government doesn’t know what we know, that our members are the most important resource they have.
Since our last PRC meeting, we have encountered four rounds of workforce adjustment, one with Citizenship and Immigration and three with Service Canada. This is why I know what our members are made of. They have had to make or are in the process of making some very difficult life altering decisions. Some have picked up their lives and moved to another part of Canada to maintain employment; others have chosen to retire a little bit earlier than planned.
I had the privilege of handing Tony Clement his affected letter on July 13, 2013, as well as the Brandon/Souris MP Merv Tweed.
The best part of that is Tweed’s office invited me to a private BBQ for the Minister of Labour. I could not find anyone brave enough to go with me.
I participated in two Town Hall meetings that CUPE arranged in Brandon (72 attendees) and Winnipeg (35 attendees). The topic of these meetings was the upcoming changes to Employment Insurance. I was amazed how little the public is aware of when it comes to what the current government is capable of.
As a Union we will have many challenges ahead as I just read that they will be looking at our pensions this fall once again. So here we go again.
We continue to struggle to have members attend the Westman Area Meetings but we will continue to make the effort. We have established a Women’s Committee, which is now official as we have opened the bank account.
The Brandon Labour Council is interested in hosting an event for “We are All Affected”. The Labour council is currently in the process of opening an advocacy office in Brandon, which will be definitely needed with the changes coming to EI.
In Solidarity
Susan Norman
PRC Committee Member
WMAC