Dollarama workers say they lack protection
Dollarama workers in Montreal say the retailer’s failure to provide protective equipment and enforce social-distancing measures is putting them at risk of infection while the COVID -19 pandemic rages.
Workers at Dollarama’s Montreal distribution centre aren’t being supplied with gloves, masks or soap, an employee who identified himself only as Jean-jacques told reporters Monday.
What’s more, many stores lack glass partitions to protect cashiers, and staffers wishing to wear gloves or masks must buy their own equipment — a next-to-impossible task in times of shortage — said another employee who identified herself as Laura.
“The fear of catching the virus is constant,” Laura, a Montreal-area store worker, told reporters on a conference call Monday. “Sanitary measures are not being respected. People are afraid of infecting their families. These are very bad conditions that must be denounced.”
The Dollarama employees who spoke to the media Monday did not disclose their real names out of a fear of reprisals.
In light of the worker comments, Dollarama said it has put in place “a great number of measures” to help protect staff against the spread of COVID-19.
Dollarama is in the process of installing “quality Plexiglas fixtures” this week at all its stores across Canada, Lyla Radmanovich, an outside spokesperson, said Monday in an emailed response to questions. Such shields are already in place at many Montreal-area locations, she added.
Cleaning and disinfecting are now taking place more frequently and the recommended hygiene practices, respiratory etiquette and self-isolation directives have been implemented, Dollarama said. Store hours have been reduced “to allow more time for sanitizing and restocking.”
Hand sanitizer is present “at all locations, gloves are provided to customer-facing store employees, and no one is prevented from wearing gloves, a mask or any other face covering should they choose,” Radmanovich said.
The various steps are “at minimum in accordance with the directives of public health authorities,” she added.
Dollarama is among a group of companies that were recognized as essential service providers in Quebec last month. The list also includes businesses such as supermarkets and pharmacies, among others.
Working conditions at Dollarama haven’t improved despite “several” employee complaints filed with Quebec’s CNESST workplace health and safety agency, Cheolki Yoon, a spokesperson for the Immigrant Workers Centre, told reporters Monday.
Crowded locker rooms and a lack of handwashing stations are putting warehouse employees’ health at risk, as is the fact workers need to be in close proximity to each other to do their jobs, according to Yoon’s group.
Compounding the problem is the fact CNESST inspectors are now working remotely, which often prevents them from conducting on-site investigations, Yoon said.
While CNESST inspectors are indeed teleworking during the pandemic, it’s incorrect to say that inspections have declined as a result of the health crisis, said Nicolas Bégin, a spokesman for the agency.
More than 150 virus-related work site inspections have taken place across Quebec in recent weeks, Bégin said. He declined to comment on Dollarama specifically.
Dollarama recently granted store, distribution centre and warehouse workers a temporary 10 per cent salary increase, effective March 23. The wage boost will apply until July 1.
Still, the hike only amounts to $1.25 an hour, Laura said — short of the $2 an hour premium granted by supermarket chains such as Loblaw and Metro.
“It’s a bit ridiculous,” said Laura, the Dollarama employee. “They announced it as a 10 per cent increase. They didn’t tell us this was a $1.25 increase because it wouldn’t have gone down well.”