Law would ensure workers don't lose pay while getting jabs
The B.C. government is following Saskatchewan's lead by taking the first step to ensuring workers who get a COVID-19 vaccine during work hours aren't docked their pay.
Labour Minister Harry Bains on Monday introduced amendments to the Employment Standards Act that, if passed, will require employers to give workers up to three hours paid time off to get vaccinated.
“Many workers, we understand, are on paycheque to paycheque and they can't afford to lose pay to go get vaccinated,” Bains told reporters on Monday. “People shouldn't have to make this decision, to choose between pay or getting vaccinated.”
The proposed changes expand on new rules passed April 1 that protect employees from losing their job if they must be vaccinated during work hours, Bains said. B.C. already has a similar law that requires employers to give paid time off to employees who must use working hours to vote in a provincial, federal, municipal or First Nations election.
In March, Saskatchewan became the first Canadian province to ensure employees booked for a vaccine can leave work for up to three hours without losing pay or other benefits.
“Bringing in a paid leave for a set few hours for staff to get a vaccination is an opportunity for businesses to look at this as an investment in a future free of COVID -19, which will be good for their business and their bottom line, and ultimately economic recovery for all industries,” Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman said in a statement.
The move was applauded by the B.C. Federation of Labour. The federation's secretary-treasurer, Sussanne Skidmore, said in a statement the measures will remove a significant barrier to vaccination for low-income workers.
“Today, the government took a strong step to ensure workers can access vaccines,” Skidmore said.
The pandemic, she said, has disproportionately hurt low-income workers, many of whom are women and people from racialized communities who work in sectors that don't allow them to work from home. Earlier this month, provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, gave WorkSafeBC inspectors the power to shut down non-essential businesses for at least 10 days if there has been COVID-19 transmission at the workplace.
“The next step must be to help workers stop the spread. For that, B.C. urgently needs paid sick leave so workers can do the safe thing and stay home when they feel sick,” Skidmore said.
The federation said more than half of B.C. workers have no paid sick leave.
Premier John Horgan is under pressure to fund a provincial sick leave program in this year's budget, which will be introduced tomorrow. The federation says the federal government's Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which pays $500 a week for anyone sick with COVID-19, is inadequate because it doesn't replace a worker's full wages.