A recent Star investigation shed light on the vulnerabilities of part time and temporary workers who can be employed anwyere from LTC homes, hospitals, grocery stores to factories. For example, this investigation revealed that at Metro, 61% of employees are part-time and do not have access to paid sick days.
Recently, a part-time nurse shared her struggles through the Humans in Brampton social media platform, “In November, after diligently wearing PPE, I developed symptoms after caring for a COVID-19 patient. I got tested and since our policy is that we cannot return to work until we have received the results of the test, I missed two days of work till my result returned negative. I work part-time and do not have the benefit of sick days. I did not get any payment for those two days.”
It’s absolutely heartbreaking to hear such stories. From nurses, grocery workers to essential manufacturing workers, these are jobs that we applauded as a society in the beginning of the pandemic. It’s been a year since COVID-19 first arrived in Canada and while essential workers have become heroic in society, their rights, health or lives have not garnered the same level of importance.
The disregard for their rights or health is not new to temporary or part-time workers. The lack of basic employment rights, refusal of the government to consider them eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) amongst other benefits and be at the mercy of employment agencies has been ongoing for decades.
These workers even lack basic rights that most of us take granted for — paid sick days. One would assume that paid sick days are a needed legislation during a global pandemic. However, both Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Labour of Ontario, Monte McNaughton, have persistently refused sick days, pointing to the federal government’s program Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) as to why they aren’t introducing paid sick day legislation. But CRSB does not equate to paid sick days.Why?
Firstly, CRSB is not paid sick leave. Workers are only eligible to apply if they miss 50 per cent of their work week if they are isolating or unwell due to COVID-19. CRSB can only be received twice in a year for a two-week period and is not renewable even if the worker has persistent symptoms. So, what about workers who test negative or have mild symptoms that resolve in a few days? What about workers in hazardous workplaces with repetitive risk of exposure? This very notion that you may or may not be eligible for CRSB depending on symptoms discourages testing and isolation amongst workers, which is key to mitigating workplace outbreaks. Workers already struggling on minimum wage cannot afford to walk on eggshells and risk receiving no payment for missed work.
Secondly, CRSB amounts to $450 per week after taxes which sums up to less than minimum wage. Moreover, there is a delay in application and the payment is not immediate. These workers are already struggling financially and often lack affordable housing, child care, and insurance for prescription medicine. By giving them less than minimum wage when they are unwell and scared, we’re reprimanding essential workers instead of holding their hands financially during such tough times.
Thirdly, like other federal benefits, the application for CRSB requires internet literacy and an understanding of English. A recent report from Ryerson University published in Toronto Star demonstrated the digital divide in Toronto — a significant proportion had slow speed or lack of access to the internet which respondents reported impacted their access to critical information such as CERB application. In high risk areas such as Peel, up to 4 per cent of the population does not have knowledge of English or Punjabi and the underutilization of linguistic and multicultural media has already been discussed during the pandemic. Therefore, dependency of CRSB on a federal application process, linguistic and internet literacy only perpetuates socioeconomic inequities that continue to impact the most vulnerable throughout the pandemic.
The health of essential unsung pandemic heroes is persistently disregarded throughout the pandemic. Precarious, temporary, and part time workers are disproportionately bearing the brunt of the pandemic while turning our economy and lives. The bare minimum we could do for these workers is grant them paid sick days so they are not scared to focus on their health.
We need to fiercely advocate for these essential workers and ensure their lives are put before productivity numbers and economy. This is the least we could do for those who let us enjoy our meals and goods in comfort of our homes.
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