Calls to Protect Health of Workers and Public Flood the Media

We are seeing articles pop up across Ontario and Canada, calling on provincial and federal governments to respond to the needs of workers and wider communities. In light of COVID-19, we know that many workers are disproportionately vulnerable due to gaps in the labour law. Check out some of the recent media on these issues below.

March 16: Paid time off is rare for low-wage earners in Toronto. So what will they do now? | The Star

In this exclusive, The Toronto Star's Sara Mojtehedzadeh presents a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study revealing that many workers lack access to paid sick leave. 

"Social distancing is essential to manage the spread of COVID-19. But just 20 per cent of the work leave taken by low-wage earners in Toronto is paid, according to new statistics provided to the Star"

Read the full article here.

March 16: If social distancing is going to succeed, Canadian workers will need better supports | the Globe and Mail

Ella Bedard, John No and Amy Brubacher are labour and employment lawyers working in Toronto with experience representing low-wage workers regarding employment-standards issues. This Globe and Mail opinion piece argues that we need bold governmental measures to protect the health of all. 

"After all, there is a clear link between employment laws and the protection of public health. Health-care providers have long recommended that workers have access to at least seven paid sick days and access to additional paid leave during public-health crises."

Read the full article here.

March 16: Study warns that many workers lack access to paid leave during pandemic | iPolitics

Public health officials are asking those who show signs of COVID-19 symptoms, were in close contact with someone infected or are returning from abroad to go into self-isolation for 14 days. The study says workplace-based paid sickness or vacation leave days would be the first line of financial support for those self-isolating. 

Read the full article at iPolitics.

March 13: How Labour Policy in Both Canada and the US Affects the Spread of Coronavirus | Maclean's

Danyaal Raza is a family physician in Toronto, assistant professor at the University of Toronto and board chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare. Kate Hayman is an emergency physician in Toronto, assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and part of the Decent Work and Health Network.

"Without paid sick days, low-income families will only be forced further into poverty. Again, during the H1N1 epidemic, many quarantined workers without paid sick days reported that they couldn’t pay bills as a direct result of lost income. Workers will have to choose between paying rent, feeding their children and protecting the health of the public." 

Read the full article here.

March 12: Health Workers Slam Ontario Government For Axing Paid Sick Days As Pandemic Spreads | HuffPost Canada'

"A group of health-care providers is calling on Ontario’s government to immediately reinstate paid sick days and stop employers from asking for doctors’ notes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The coronavirus outbreak has exposed a critical need for labour laws that improve health instead of undermining it,” Carolina Jimenez, a registered nurse and coordinator of the Decent Work & Health Network, told reporters at Queen’s Park Thursday"

Read the full article at HuffPost Canada.

March 12: Ontario needs to reinstate paid sick days amid COVID-19 pandemic, health-care workers say | CTV News

"Health-care workers and opposition parties are calling on the Ontario government to enact emergency legislation that would waive the need for doctors' notes and reinstate paid sick days amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While health officials across the country ask residents to stay home if they are feeling ill, a group of health-care workers say that millions of people in low-wage jobs and precarious employment are unable to do so."

Read the article on CTV News. 

March 9: Why I Won't Stay at Home When I'm Sick | The Star

"If authorities continue to provide public health messaging that is so out of touch with the reality of many people’s lives, people will quickly learn to do what they usually do with empty words: ignore them."

In this Toronto Star opinion piece, contract instructor Mandy Pipher confronts an impossible choice facing her and thousands of workers like her. 

"Instead of continuing to iterate that, frankly ludicrous, directive that individuals just “stay home” when they’re sick, our public health authorities should shift to advice that suggests “paying your employees to stay at home if they’re sick.” That puts the focus and the onus on the only place where it could actually make a difference."

Pipher's story highlights the need for legislation that protects all Ontario workers who require paid sick days. Read the full piece here. 

March 6: Workers Worry about Unpaid Sick Days Amid Coronavirus Fears

"There are lots of workers in that low-wage sector who are just holding it together," said Nancy Worth, a University of Waterloo professor who specializes in precarious employment. "Every day (of paid work) matters when you have bills to pay and rent is coming up. Basically people can't afford to get sick."

This article in the Waterloo Region Record explores the impact of labour law gaps on precarious workers in Waterloo and beyond. 

"If we're asking people to be at home for two weeks in order to protect public health, then they have to bear the costs themselves," explains Ellen Russell, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and economist who specializes in labour market policies. 

She said workers who are not financially able to take sick leave are more likely to show up to work if they are sick. "If the government wants us to stay home when we're sick ... it seems like it's a public issue that requires public policy to resolve."

Read the full article here. 

March 5: Protecting Workers is Key to Protecting Public Health

"Workers need protection and financial support — not just for fairness, but to help public health. ... Self-quarantine alone would constitute a major financial burden for many households, never mind the costs of serious illness. Financial pressures will push many Canadians to go to work anyway — something we already know happens."

In this Toronto Star opinion piece, economist Jim Stanford draws attention to four key pressure points in labour policy that are crucial to protect public health: sick pay, doctor's notes, job security, and employment insurance.

"Sick Pay: There is no legislative requirement for sick pay in Canada. ... It will be hard to fix this blind spot overnight, but labour ministers should announce their intention to legislate sick pay — and name and shame any employers (including digital platforms) that don’t."

Read the full piece here.

March 5: Missing Work to Stop Coronavirus Spread Not so Easy for Workers Without Sick Pay, Lawyer Says | CBC's the Current

The Current's Matt Galloway spoke with workers and employment lawyer Sarah Molyneaux about gaps in labour law that prove a danger to the spread of COVID-19. 

 You have people coming to work sick, spreading their germs around the workplace, on their commute, not being as productive while they are at work and potentially needing longer-term absences because their illness becomes more serious." Molyneaux says workers need more protection.

"I think we're making a mistake if we always act reactively to these issues, and always rely on the generosity of employers," she said.

"What we need is acceptable, reasonable, minimum employment standards, because cold and flu season comes around every year, even if coronavirus does not."

Read the article and listen to the segment here. 

March 4: Without Sick Leave, Staying Home due to COVID-19 'not an option for Precarious Workers, B.C. Woman Says | CBC News

"With 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, that raises concerns for workers without sick leave across various industries like tourism, food service, retail, filming, and construction."

This March 4th CBC News piece explores how in British Columbia, which like Ontario has no legislated paid sick days, workers are left in the precarious position of not being able to take time off for their health. 

"I don't think people really understand what it means to not be able to miss work," she said. "It's the difference between eating or not, the difference between having a place to live or not.""

Read the article here.

March 3: These workers can’t afford to take time off if they’re exposed to coronavirus. For them, the government’s advice to self-quarantine is almost impossible | The Star

In this March 3rd article, the Toronto Star spoke with workers across different sectors, revealing the financial barriers workers are faced with when following public health advice to stay home when sick. 

Teddy Kassay, Parking attendant

Average daily income: $112

The father of three kids, under the age of nine, dreads the very thought of having to be off from work. With little or no savings to fall back on, Kassay said being off sick would be a financial nightmare, as he doesn’t get paid when he’s off sick. His wife works part-time, “with not much income,” and they rent an apartment, he said.

“If I’m off, I don’t get nothing,” he said.

Read the full article here.