Brampton lays off 2,000 non-essential part-time and seasonal city workers

Yorkregion.com
April 20, 2020
Graeme Frisque

The city announced Friday, April 17 that it was “temporarily suspending employment” for 2,000 of its non-essential part-time, temporary/casual and seasonal employees, effective Saturday.

The city called the layoffs a temporary measure due to facility closures and programming cancellations aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and that the city hopes to bring the workers back as programs begin to resume.

This is the latest in a series of measures advised by Peel Public Health and Brampton Emergency Management Office, which include the extension of a March 25 suspension of all city events and festivals until at least July 1.

“As a result of the extended facility closures and cancellations of programming (i.e. seasonal events and recreational programs), there has been a shortage of work for a large majority of part-time, casual, and seasonal staff. Impacted positions are those directly related to the City’s extended service changes,” said the city in an emailed statement.

“Non-essential and noncritical services would not include Fire and Emergency Services, By-Law Enforcement, Transit, Animal Services, Works Operation and Maintenance, Parks and Forestry Operations, Security Services, Site Plan Applications, Building Permits/Inspections, Official Plan Amendments (OPAs) and Rezoning Planning Applications, 311 and Administrative/Technical functions,” it added.

The city said in an email that officials believe many employees will qualify for financial support from the Government of Canada’s benefits programs.

Brampton chief administrative officer David Barrick said the municipality isn’t immune to the societal and economic changes that other large organization and businesses are experiencing due to COVID-19 spread mitigation measures.

“We remain committed to ensuring staff have access to the support services they need during this time. I would also like to assure everyone that this difficult decision is a direct result of closures and cancellations in response to COVID-19 and does not reflect the contributions of impacted employees, who remain a valued part of our team,” he said.