Health workers available for comment re: possibility of temporary paid sick days expiring

TORONTO, March 22 - Canadian Press is reporting that the Ford government is planning to let the Worker Income Protection Benefit (WIPB) expire at the end of the month. Health workers who are at the front lines of Ontario’s healthcare crisis are available for comment and are calling on the provincial government to legislate 10 permanent paid sick days immediately:

“We are outraged that the government has not taken any concrete steps to provide life-saving, employer-paid sick days to workers in Ontario. By ruling out the possibility of legislating at least 10 employer-paid sick days the Ford government has delivered another blow to Ontario’s healthcare system.”  - Dr. Bernard Ho, emergency and family physician

Background

• After three symbolic extensions in the last two years and with no improvement to the original program, the WIPB has been shown to be woefully ineffective. 
• While we are glad that a small number of workers were able to access some financial relief for COVID-19 related absences, it’s obvious the WIPB failed to provide the protections that workers really need.

• The evidence is clear that a lack of paid sick days contributes to overcrowding in hospitals, and unnecessary spread of illness which also lead to school closures and workplace lockdowns.  

• The medical evidence overwhelmingly supports a mandated 10 employer-paid sick day policy as a basic public health measure and as a safeguard against future outbreaks. For a government that claims to be “working for workers” it’s a disappointing failure of leadership to ignore the science and advice of health professionals.  . 

Health workers from the Decent Work and Health Network are available for comment. 

To arrange interviews, please contact Yasmin Beydoun at [email protected] or 902-402-9850

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