Currently in Ontario, both the federal and provincial governments provide funding and some technical support to plan and implement an adjustment response. This will likely change to province-only funding in 2007 when the Labour Market Development Agreement takes effect.

Each adjustment program is unique. At the same time, labour has advocated for certain features:

• the establishment of an adjustment committee, either with or without the employer, to oversee the program
• the use of “peer helpers” who assist co-workers to access programs and services
• where feasible, and particularly in larger layoffs: the set up of a workplace or community-based “action centre” that provides a range of employment and other supports and services to laid-off workers

It’s hard for individual workers to access services on their own. By reaching out to laid-off members, action centres have a consistent record of involving the majority of members in the use of services, and of higher success rates for job placement than situations where no action centre is available.

Typical activities include:

• assessing each individual’s employment, training and other needs
• sourcing and making referrals to appropriate employment and training programs in the community
• offering services (resumes, preparation for job interviews, etc.) directly at the action centre by contracting community agencies or consultants
• providing a broad range of information and resources to help workers make the transition to new employment
• providing job placement help (direct telephone and other forms of employer outreach widen the pool of prospective employers)
• helping workers gain access to training, including Grade 12, ESL/English upgrading, and basic computer training
• providing immediate, on-site counseling and personal support
• advocating and problem-solving when needed regarding EI, WSIB, pensions, etc.
• providing access to phone, fax, internet, photocopier, computers
• providing support for workers’ families
• developing community and labour links and networks

Peer helpers

Peer staffing is an important and popular element of action centres. Peers are co-workers who have proven to be “natural helpers.” Union Counselors trained through Labour Community Services programs (if already available in your workplace) are obvious potential peer helpers.

Peer helpers are known, familiar, and are trusted. They provide emotional and social comfort. Directly affected themselves, they can relate to and acknowledge the loss their co-workers are experiencing, including feelings of intense anger and grief.

Peer staff greet visitors to the action centre, provide information and referrals, and support the services provided by community agencies or contractors.

Peers are particularly valuable when they can speak the different languages in the workplace, or just generally know and appreciate the language of the workplace and the industry. Peer helpers recognize and value the skills and knowledge needed in the jobs their co-workers held, often resulting in much higher quality resumes and job placement. Action centres and peer helpers are especially important for older workers who may initially resist participating in programs but soon discover they require new tools and resources to navigate today’s labour market.

Peers are also an important success factor on adjustment committees. Affected employees are selected from the union to represent their co-workers, bringing credibility and responsiveness to the overall process.

Small layoffs

Workers losing jobs in small layoffs often slip through the cracks. Because employers are not required to report layoffs of less than 50 workers to the Ministry of Labour, there is no automatic response offering adjustment services. Unions need to advocate strongly to secure employer and government adjustment funding. Even without funding however, unions attempt to respond to workers’ needs. Unions may try to place members in alternate jobs and some unions run programs out of a union hall. Linking laid-off workers to community resources such as Unemployed Help Centres is a vital union role.