Ministers to push for more paid sick leave
Sickness benefit could be delivered more quickly, pay more, minister says
year after public health officials began telling workers to stay home when ill to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, provincial labour ministers are expected to push the federal government next week to provide a program that makes it more feasible for all workers to do that without sacrificing their pay.
The federal, provincial and territorial ministers of labour have a joint meeting Monday, when the issue is expected to surface.
“COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of every worker having the protection they need to keep themselves and their families safe,” said B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains, who will be among those pushing for greater paid sick leave.
“That’s why employers and people with different political backgrounds realize there’s a need for paid sick days.”
The federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) has become a matter of contention on the provincial level in Ontario, with labour minister Monte McNaughton citing the program’s existence as the reason Ontario does not need to implement legislative changes requiring paid sick days.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently bolstered the benefit, doubling it from two to four weeks of paid sick leave.
Eligible recipients can apply online for sick pay from Sept. 27, 2020, until Sept. 25, 2021. The $500-a-week benefit works out to $450 weekly after taxes are withheld. Workers must reapply for each week they need it.
But critics have pointed out that workers need to apply to receive the benefit, and criticized the cap. They say sick workers who are low paid may still have to choose between taking a crucial cash hit by staying home, and being able to make money for themselves and their families.
“It’s a decision nobody should have to make,” reads a portion of a joint statement this week by the provincial federations of labour in every province except Quebec and the Yukon. “The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit is a small step forward, but it falls far short of what is needed.”
The federations of labour, which represent most unionized workers in their provinces, are calling for the provinces to enact permanent legislation that would require employers to provide paid sick days for all workers.
Ontario NDP MPP Peggy Sattler is pushing a private member’s bill to do so in Ontario.
However, the ministers are eyeing improvements to the CRSB. Bains said that on the agenda of the joint ministers’ meeting Monday will be increasing the amount of the benefit and making it easier for workers to access.
He said the priority should be to bolster the federal program — then to consult constituents on potential legislative changes for paid sick leave in the future.
“How do we work with the federal government to deal with this issue right now and then, going forward, can we make this a permanent pandemic-related leave?” he said. “This is a national emergency, and there should be a national solution.”
Bains will be the only NDP minister of labour at the joint meeting, but he expects Progressive Conservative, Conservative and Liberal ministers will support bolstering the existing federal program.
Workers have been an important vector in the transmission of COVID-19, with outbreaks shutting down some workplaces such as meat and poultry plants. More than 6,000 healthcare workers in Ontario have gotten sick with COVID-19, and, as of Friday, the city of Toronto had16 active outbreaks in workplaces declared.