Sick days should be a basic human right

Re 1.6M workers in Ontario aren’t entitled to paid

sick days, March 22 Sara Mojtehedzadeh’s article struck a chord. A friend of mine, call her “Ms Indentured Service,” has worked for her present company and the previous ones before they were taken over, for nigh on 10 years.

Yes, her contract has been renewed, sometimes for six months, but on this latest renewal it was for three months and one week. How can anyone plan any long term, meaningful lifestyle with the threat of imminent non-renewal hovering over one’s head?

This lady has worked her butt off for her company and all she gets in return is a piddling contract without benefits, without any sick leave, with unpaid emergency leave days and without any security of any kind. To add insult to injury she has now been tasked with training younger employees to learn how to do her job.

This whole setup is an insult to the worker and is a sad reflection on the inability of the current government to step in and sort this out so that all em- ployees are treated humanely and provided with the basic elements of health benefits, sick leave and a contract that will allow one to live life without the constant pressure that one’s job security is based on the whim of some highpriced CEO and the like.

It’s not just a matter of spreading illnesses around; it’s a matter of basic human rights being applied in the workplace. Les Robling, Port Hope, Ont.