The head of the P.E.I. Federation of Labour says it is past time for P.E.I. to put in place paid sick leave for all workers, over and above existing COVID-19 federal supports.
Carl Pursey, president of the P.E.I. Federation of Labour, says many people working in restaurants and retail – the businesses most affected by the recent explosion of public exposure warnings – often do not have paid sick days. The requirement to self-isolate means they could lose out on income.
“A lot of them (are) women and working minimum wage jobs. And they don't have any sick time at all,” Pursey told The Guardian.
The federation is calling for seven days of paid sick leave. He said labour groups across Canada would like this to be put in place nationally.
Nationally, 58 per cent of workers lack access to paid sick leave, according to a report from the Ontario-based Decent Work and Health Network. Seventy per cent of those earning less than $25,000 per year lacked paid sick days.
On Monday, Economic Growth Minister Matthew MacKay announced the relaunch of a $500 one-time income relief program for workers who have suffered a loss of income due to the recent COVID-19 lockdown measures. The payment was offered during the December circuit breaker, which shuttered restaurants at that time. A grocery gift card program for workers laid off between Feb. 28 and March 14 was also announced.
MacKay also promised a new $1 million income relief fund for workers who lack access to paid sick leave or who may experience gaps in federal income support programs. Details are expected to be announced later this week.
“There’s a lot of anxiety right now, especially with people wondering where their money is going to come from to put food on the table,” MacKay said.
Many P.E.I. workers are eligible to receive payment under federal programs.
The federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit provides support for workers required to take time off work in order to self-isolate due to COVID-19. It provides up to $500 per week for individuals who have lost 50 per cent or more of their scheduled work week. However, this benefit would not cover workers who have been laid off due to public health restrictions, such as those that have shuttered businesses in P.E.I.
The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), another federal program, allows individuals to receive up to $1,000 per two-week period if they have lost 50 per cent of their average weekly income, compared to the previous year.
However, some workers may be ineligible. Both of these programs require workers to have earned at least $5,000 in 2019 or 2020 to qualify. The CRB also may leave out some workers who lost hours, but still had earned significantly more this year than the previous year.
P.E.I. Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said some workers may face a delay in getting their payments after applying for the federal programs. He would like to see P.E.I.’s Employment Standards Act amended to ensure all workers have access to paid sick leave.
"The biggest issue with that federal program is that latency period between making the application and actually seeing the money in your bank account," Bevan-Baker said.
"For low-wage Islanders who are living, out of necessity, paycheque to paycheque, this is March the first. This is due today. That's sort of delay does not work for them."
In June, the province amended the Employment Standards Act to require employers to provide an emergency leave for workers who were required to self-isolate due to COVID-19, without fear of retribution. But this leave is unpaid.
P.E.I. labour laws require employers to provide one day of paid sick leave, but only to workers who have been employed for five years or more.
Bevan-Baker said emergency leave should be paid by the employer. But, he also said government support could be extended to hard-hit businesses in the restaurant sector to ease the burden of paid sick days for employers.
"There would absolutely be a way that government would be involved in some sort of rebate program to those businesses, in the same way that we have the (Canada) Emergency Wage Benefit,” he said.
Nora Loreto, a journalist and author based in Quebec, has been tracking COVID-19 deaths in Canada since the start of the pandemic.
She said workplaces are often a key site in which COVID-19 outbreaks have been amplified nationally.
"So sick leave becomes really important in that situation because you have to isolate that person as much as you can, and you have to do it as fast as you can,” Loreto said.
“If they're not paid to stay home and they have to go to work, then it becomes an economic decision much more than a public health solidarity-with-other-people kind of decision."
As of Sunday, Loreto has tracked 53 deaths in Canada that have been linked to COVID-19 workplace outbreaks since the start of the pandemic. The highest numbers of workplace deaths have been linked to the meat packing and transportation sectors, including taxis.
Folks, here is a very important thread about COVID-19 measures and why they will not slow the spread of COVID enough.
— Nora Loreto (@NoLore) December 16, 2020
It's simple -- the most aggressive public health measures are missing the biggest driver of the pandemic: large industrial workplaces.
