President Dan Goodman has spoken with Sobeys about the current emergency situation and the possible effects on our members. The company has shared their current plan in dealing with stores and employees impacted by the flooding and road issues:

1) Unless the member is evacuated or dealing with a family situation, the employer wants them to come to work as scheduled. If there is no product as a result of panic buying, the employer will find alternative work for the member. This may result in some cross jurisdiction work being done.

2) If a member can’t get to their store due to road issues, they need to contact their manager who will attempt to redeploy them to another store. If this is not possible, member will be paid for scheduled shift(s). First option is to keep our members working.

3) If member refuses to work, there will be no pay. If a decision is made to close a store for a day, members will be paid for their scheduled shift. Anything beyond a day will be discussed and dealt with as needed.

A separate discussion also took place with Loblaw’s management. Loblaw does not anticipate having to close any stores in the affected areas. Members are asked to contact their store if they can’t get in. It’s believed that most affected members have already been identified and appropriate arrangements have been made. Loblaw will be posting and sharing information at store level as it becomes available.

We remind our members to keep in communication with their union representative if there are further issues that need to be addressed or if additional support is needed.

More information will be shared here as the situation evolves.

*If you or someone you know has been directly affected by the floods in our province or you are in a position to help, updates and resources are available here.