Flames will pay event staff for suspended games after all
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoOn Saturday, Postmedia reported that the @Calgary Flames wouldn’t be paying their event staff for games cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Well, good news: they are now doing so. The club announced their compensation program on Sunday afternoon.
From the Flames:
This program will provide part time employees who are affected by this temporary halt in our operations and are applying for and are eligible to receive Employment Insurance (EI) benefits to receive a top up payment from CSEC, which will provide an overall benefit of up to 95% of your regular average insurable earnings (which is the maximum allowable by Service Canada), to the conclusion of the Flames regular season. If you are not eligible to receive EI benefits due to not working sufficient hours you will receive the equivalent CSEC top up portion.
The program is similar to the one previously announced by the Edmonton Oilers.
Over at The Athletic, Chicago beat writer Jon Greenberg dug into the supports proposed to cover the event workers at the United Center – his estimate was just shy of $5 million (US). While the Flames’ program isn’t quite as comprehensive, and the Saddledome doesn’t have as many dates as the United Center during the period, it’s still not a small undertaking.
The Flames’ release began with an apology of sorts:
It has been a very challenging week for all of us. We appreciate your support and understanding as further events unfold. We may not get everything right, out of the gate, but we can assure you that we will continue to work hard to do what is right for all of our Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation family.
It’s been a challenging week for, well, everybody. Ken King passed away after a long illness. The NHL, WHL and NLL seasons have been suspended and it’s not immediately clear if (or when) they’re returning. The world oil price cratered, and that commodity just so happens to be the primary investment for much of Flames ownership. For a team that has admitted in the past (via King) to be receiving revenue sharing, potentially losing 20% of their home dates and then figuring out the logistics in a rapidly-changing situation cannot be easy.
Life’s probably not going to be normal for a while, friends. The Flames did the right thing here. It took them a little bit of time – and a lot of public flack from a wide range of actors – but given the unprecedented and chaotic situation we’re all in, let’s give them a little bit of credit for doing this.
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