`Circuit breaker' puts the squeeze on pub, restaurant servers
Already struggling, restaurant staff say new COVID measures `hard to take'
Restaurant server Sherrie Robinson estimates that the province's three-week COVID-19 “circuit breaker” restrictions on restaurants and pubs will cost her about half her income — if the establishment remains open.
With regular tips from in-person service, the shifts were worth up to $250 to Robinson at Cindy's Cafe in West Vancouver's Ambleside, a cosy breakfast, brunch, lunch spot.
Her base pay ends up at just $95 a day, leaving her wondering “how am I going to pay for groceries?”
“I'm still in a bit of shock,” said the 36-year-old single mother of a nine-year-old, who feels blindsided by the short notice of Dr. Bonnie Henry's order on Monday, in the middle of what would be their last in-person service for at least three weeks.
And Robinson doubts it will be only three weeks.
Cindy's was already limited to just six indoor tables under COVID safety rules, with two more outside on a patio, offering Robinson regular shifts Monday to Friday.
The provincial health officer's orders, however, limit Cindy's to takeout and delivery — a tough sell for breakfast food — and the two outdoor tables that Robinson said haven't had a lot of takers in chilly spring weather.
By an initial check of the Employment Insurance website, Robinson said it doesn't look like she would qualify for existing EI or Canada Recovery Benefit assistance if she is still working.
“I answered a bunch of questions (on the website), but nothing applied to me,” Robinson said, adding that some form of supplemental income support for people in her position would be a helpful addition to support programs.
The restrictions still allow restaurants to offer takeout and delivery service, as well as in-person service on outdoor patios, so it is hard to estimate exactly how big their effect will be, said Bryan Yu, chief economist for Central 1 Credit Union.
Yu said the restrictions hit an already-weakened industry that was still recovering from last year's two-month near total shutdown and had come back to only about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic employment.
“Assuming that we rebound or we reopen relatively quickly, it should be a pretty brief drop-off in activity,” Yu said.
Still, restrictions will put a dent in a workforce of about 130,000 people, according to Statistics Canada payroll data. That compares with 164,000 before the pandemic.
They should have thought of that before they issued pink slips for three weeks, especially for young people who are just trying to pay the bills.
To Nick Pope, a cook and server at Raglans Bistro on Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver, the circuit breaker, as Henry called it, was a reaction that “is coming in a day late and a dollar short.”
He hasn't been laid off yet, but said management is still evaluating their next steps.
Pope said it is frustrating because earlier Henry reassured restaurants that they were doing well and weren't a significant source of COVID transmission. Restaurant staffers worked “our asses off,” he said, sanitizing and cleaning establishments to follow safety plans.
“It's been such a huge strain on us and then to turn around and just slap us with this, when we're seeing hope around the corner” is hard to take, Pope said.
Premier John Horgan promised the province would add to existing assistance programs for the beleaguered industry.
“This pandemic is not fair, it's not fair for anyone,” Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said Tuesday in a pool interview at the legislature.
“The premier has asked me to find new supports to ensure the businesses that are hardest hit and our goal is to have something by late next week.”
Interim B.C. Liberal Leader Shirley Bond said whatever that is should have been ready to unveil with Monday's announcement, “not simply a comment that says my minister is going to look at it.”
“They should have thought of that before they issued pink slips for three weeks,” Bond told Postmedia, “especially for young people who are just trying to pay the bills.”