Essential workers in the province are still waiting to find out if they are eligible for a bonus “risk pay” one month after the provincial government closed applications for the program.
Applications for the $120-million Risk Recognition Program closed at the end of June but in the weeks since then, not a dime of shared provincial-federal dollars has been handed out.
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“Members, Manitobans, are concerned, upset, confused,” said Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union. “They are feeling disrespected in many ways. These are the folks who went out and kept Manitobans safe.”
To be eligible for the program, people must have worked a minimum of 200 hours and their pre-tax employment income during the eligibility period must be less than $12,500.
“People are still sitting back and wondering if they are actually going to get a cheque,” Gawronsky said. “Should they not know already? That cheque should already have been printed out and in people’s hands.”
The province said more than 90,000 people applied for the program and funds will be split evenly among all of the approved applicants, meaning each person stands to get around $1,300.
Jeff Traeger, president of UFCW Local 832, said they have had zero contact from the province since the final program details were rolled out.
“We’ve had absolutely no communication from the government at all,” Traeger said. “People are now starting to get a little frustrated, a little impatient and concerned about why this process is taking so long.”
UFCW Local 832 represents more than 17,000 Manitobans who work in food production, food-distribution warehousing, grocery stores, security, personal care and assisted living. Traeger said he believes 8,000 to 9,000 of their members would be eligible.
While applications have been closed for weeks, the province said it takes time to review them and do their due diligence.
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“The Finance department is working hard to review the many applications received. (This includes resolving errors such as incorrect data — some applications need follow up),” said a provincial spokesperson.
“The review process needs to be fully complete before Finance deposits any funds – it needs an exact count since the amount will be divided equally between eligible recipients.”
But the MGEU said that’s not good enough.
“If you actually were doing it as a recognition for the risk people put themselves in, their families in, why hasn’t this been done already,” Gawronsky said. “It should already have been figured out. The applications were done online. It should have been very simple and quick to get it out.”
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