Hi Everyone,

The executive is confirming details of another Zoom meeting later in the month. The meeting invite will be sent through our email list.

On May 6, Surinder sent an update to the Surrey Libraries staff. Please see the update below,

In Solidarity,

Sandra

From: Bhogal, Surinder <Sbhogal@surrey.ca>
Sent: May 6, 2020 8:31 PM
To: SURREY PUBLIC LIBRARY <SURREYPUBLICLIBRARY2@surrey.ca>
Subject: Message from Chief Librarian: Provincial Announcement on Restart Plan and Re-opening Surrey Libraries

Hi Everyone,

Many of you will have seen today’s announcement from the provincial government on the restart plan. Key goals of the plan are to :

• Protect lives by suppressing transmission as low as possible for our at-risk populations;
• Ensure our health system has capacity to provide quality care to non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 patients alike;
• Alleviate the physical, social and mental health challenges that come with restricting social interaction; and
• Rebuild a resilient economy and provide supports for people to safely return to work; and, į Strengthen the social fabric of our families and communities.

For employers,  recommendations are to review:

• Physical distancing measures – measures to reduce the density of people.
• Engineering controls – physical barriers (like plexiglass at checkouts), or increased ventilation.
• Administrative controls – clear rules and guidelines.
• Personal protective equipment – e.g. use of non-medical masks

They have suggested Libraries could restart in phase 1, starting mid-May onwards. I was on a call with 55 Library Directors from across the Province this afternoon, and most libraries are not ready to open their buildings to the public in mid-May. With this announcement, we may expect public pressure to reopen; however, we need time to ensure our workplaces and procedures are in place for a safe return to work for staff, before the public are reintroduced to the branches. We have started drafting reopening plans (and many of the provincial recommendations are already considered), with a curbside delivery option as the first phase.  We will be discussing draft plans with the Union and H+ S Committee over the next few days and look forward to sharing drafts with you for input and comment.

To clarify, public libraries were not ordered to shut down by the Province. The closure decisions were made at a local government level, as will be the reopening decisions. Our reopening plans will need to be reviewed by the City’s Emergency Operations Centre, Council and the Library Board.  Some of the factors considered will be our ability to comply with provincial orders, public demand, financial viability, and ensuring staff and public safety. We are working on many of these details and most certainly will not be ready in mid-May – one of the first steps is to bring some of our staff back.

With the easing of restrictions, as we begin to gradually reintroduce more services, we will be able to bring more laid-off staff back to work. As it will be a phased approach to reopening, we will start to recall staff in phases, based on staffing requirements for each phase. We will work with the union on the details of recalling staff back to work.

I’m very excited by this announcement and looking forward to seeing more of our colleagues back at work. We will work together to ensure our workplaces are safe and that we can continue to support our community through this crisis.

The complete plan can be reviewed here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/bc-restart-plan

I plan to send weekly updates to staff moving onwards – please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Surinder

SURINDER BHOGAL | CHIEF LIBRARIAN

Hi Everyone,

On April 28 it is the Day of Mourning. Below is information about what is happening this year to commemorate those that have been killed,  injured, or suffered illness as a result of their work.

Thanks,

Sandra

Sisters, Brothers and Friends,

Tuesday, April 28^th is the Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the Job.

Please find below a link for the New Westminster & District Labour Council virtual ceremony. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to gather in person this year. But it is because of the unprecedented risks to health and safety that workers are facing right now that we felt it was imperative to mark the day, remember those we have lost to a workplace injury, stand with those who have suffered a serious injury, and honour the dedication and commitment of first responders, healthcare and front line workers as they go to work every day as others stay home to flatten the curve and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OfRkYjuQgoyodg_stP9hdvbQFkb9L9Qs

Attached is a copy of the ceremony program, which runs about 30 minutes. It has been sent out early so that you can schedule time for remembrance on Tuesday. We are very grateful to everyone who participated, especially to the union leaders whose members are among those on the front lines right now: Coleen Jones, Pacific Region Director of the CUPW; Stephanie Smith, President of the BCGEU; Val Avery, President HSABC; Barb Nederpel, President of the HEU; and Kim Novak, President of UFCW 1518.

We also invite you to join with us at 7:00pm on April 28^th to light a candle or turn on a light to remember the fallen, rededicate yourself to health and safety at work, and to honour those on the front lines right now.

We appreciate the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry: stay safe, maintain a physical distance, wash your hands and be kind.

Subject: Day of Mourning Information – BC Federation of Labour

To:        BCFED Standing Committees

              BCFED Workers’ Compensation Advocacy Working Group

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you know about the plans for this year’s commemoration of the National Day of Mourning on April 28.

As you know, the National Day of Mourning honours the memory of workers who have been killed, injured, or suffered illness as a result of their work. This is one of the most sacred days on our calendar.

It causes all of us real pain to know we can’t gather in person this year because of the pandemic – which is itself a reminder of the dangers facing working people. But this date is too important for us to allow it to go unmarked.

So once again we are co-sponsoring the Day of Mourning along with the WCB, the Business Council of BC and the Vancouver and District Labour Council. This year, instead of a face-to-face event, we will be observing the day with a virtual ceremony. It begins at 10:30 am on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Please join us then at https://DayOfMourning.bc.ca. And encourage friends, colleagues and members to come too. We may be separated by this pandemic, but we can still be together in grief, condolence and solidarity.

We’ll mourn the dead and fight for the living. That means we recommit to our efforts to protect the safety and well-being of working people by:

• Improving workplace health and safety;
• Rigorously enforcing occupational health and safety regulations – and holding those who violate them to account;
• Preserving the dignity of the thousands of workers who suffer injury or illness; and
• Ensuring full compensation to those who have been hurt at work.

Together, we’ll do all we can to reach the goal I know you and I share: a province where every worker can go home safe and healthy at the end of every workday.

Hi Everyone,

During the meeting on Wednesday, different support programs were mentioned. Here are links to some helpful resources for those laid off.

Coronavirus & Benefits for Workers: The 3-Minute Summary – web page from people’s law school explaining EI, CERB, and the provincial benefit.

Fortis BC –  COVID-19 Customer Recovery Fund

BC Hydro – COVID-19 Relief Fund for residential customers

Stay Safe,
Sandra

Hi all,

Security of Zoom has been put in the forefront this past week so we have added security measures.

The general meeting invite was sent last week. There is no need to download the App on your phone or computer. Run it from the Zoom website only.

This password will be required to attend the meeting on April 22.  Please connect a member of the executive to get the password and the link.

You will need to wait to be entered into the meeting so you need to show your name for admittance with a virtual sign-in.

Hope to see you there,
402-02 Executive

Hi Everyone,

We will be having a meeting through Zoom next week. Below is the invite to the meeting.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you were able to spend some days of rest with your nearest and dearest this past long weekend.

The Library and Union continue to meet regularly to implement the workforce adjustment agreement reached on March 25. We wished a sad farewell to our casual staff and clerks on April 12, and will be sorry to see many of our regular staff go April 26. I want to stress that these layoffs are by no way a reflection of our amazing staff and the wonderful service you bring to our community. The actions are driven by unique circumstances created by COVID-19 globally and within our City.  The City is forecasting a loss of $40 million by the end of the year as a result of the pandemic. Further, since the branches closed, work is dwindling for many of our staff, as the Library has focussed on providing essential services.

Initially, 7 staff were retained to support essential services – the website, social media, google project, card registration, and e-book cataloguing  (Beth Larssen, Tracy Hetherington, Shawn Feddes, Cassidy Foxtrot, Rajinder Bains, Paulette Hembroff, Eilleen McMillan).  As the pandemic continues, the Library would like to expand online offerings to continue to assist our community and provide more opportunities for employment for our staff.  I’m pleased to announce that the Library and Union reached an agreement to retain an additional 14 regular staff. These individuals will  host live or pre-recorded online programs such as storytimes, virtual book chats, readers advisory, newcomer conversation circles, tech help by appointment, etc. In addition, they will support email and telephone reference, ordering and processing new e-book material, print orders for the Clayton Library and other system projects as required.

The staff have been selected as stipulated in the workforce adjustment agreement. The following staff, based on their position and seniority, have agreed to remain to focus on our digital offerings. Some staff with more seniority opted to decline.

• 5 Public Services Staff – Youth:  Jennie Castleton, Leslee Gawthrop, Ginny Aho,  Susan Andrews, Linda Jones
• 5 Public Services Staff – Adult: Tania Tong, Deanna Scott, Renee Zolinski-Ward, Cecilia Roberts, Sandra Cole (also back-up for website/social media)
• 3 Collection Services Staff – Mariya Yang, Ellen Wu, Sarjinder Basra
• 1 website/social media coordinator: Cortney Taylor

We are still uncertain when the Library is able to safely reopen its branches. The Libraries will reopen based on direction from the City’s Emergency Operations Centre and the Library Board, which will be guided by advice from public health officials. Even when we reopen, physical distancing measures and other COVID-19 protocols will need to be in place to ensure the safety of our staff and community until a cure/vaccine is discovered. Hence, we will continue to monitor and expand our online services, and may be able to recall more staff later to assist.

I am available to attend some of your branch/department meetings over the next few days to respond to any questions. Also, please feel free to email me directly.

Thanks,

SURINDER BHOGAL | CHIEF LIBRARIAN – SURREY LIBRARIES

Tel: 604.598.7304  Email: sbhogal@surrey.ca

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Surrey Libraries recognizes that our work takes place on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the SEMYOME (Semiahmoo),  q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations and on the ancestral and traditional territory of the sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen) First Nation.