Thumbs down for sick leave bill

A private members' bill that if passed would have guaranteed all Island workers paid sick leave was defeated last week in the provincial legislature.

The bill was introduced by Tyne ValleyLinkletter MLA Trish Altass of the Green Party and would have provided workers with up to 10 paid sick days per year. The current law, which Ebenezer Scrooge likely would have supported before he was visited by the three Christmas spirits, allows for one paid sick day a year.

The catch is that it only kicks in after five years of employment.

It must be pointed out that most workers do slightly better than that. Any union negotiator who could not reach a better deal would definitely face some tough questions from the membership. At a time when virtually every industry is undergoing a labour shortage, a decision by an employer to stick to the letter of the law likely means a frequent staff turnover.

The time when there were dozens of people for every job is over and the balance of power has shifted to the worker. Elon Musk of Telsa fame learned that the hard way when he took over Twitter. He fired half of the workforce and told everybody that was left to expect to work harder or leave. Most people left and the future of the social media platform is very much in doubt.

Altass argued the isolation requirements imposed by P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Heather Morrison pointed out the need for paid days off. She argued many minimum wage workers are forced to either take a financial loss or go to work sick and risk infecting other employees and staff.

The province created a special leave fund for COVID-19 but there is a hitch – it doesn't apply to an employee unless the employer signs up. While the isolation period for people testing positive for COVID-19 was still in place when this was written, it is scheduled to be phased out by the end of November.

Both the governing Progressive Conservatives and the four members of the Liberal (third party) caucus voted against the bill. However, with an election now less than a year away, they were trying their best to backpedal away from the impression they were against workers.

The stumbling point seemed to be the number of days. Economic Growth Minister Bloyce Thompson said the estimated cost of allowing the sick days could be up to $70 million. He wanted to know who was footing the bill, suggesting businesses would have to pass the cost on to consumers.

There is certainly no argument the move would have added costs to businesses already struggling from two years of COVID slowdowns. However, if somebody comes to work when they shouldn't and infects the rest of the staff or the customers, the cost could be even greater.

That is especially true in service sectors like restaurants where customers tend to get turned off when employees cough or sneeze on their food.

Thompson also said a comprehensive review of the province's Employment Standards Act is underway. He suggested the number of paid sick days should be part of that review.

Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry said more sick days are needed, but so was further study on just how many.

The topic is essentially stalled until the Act review is completed sometime next year and likely until after the next election. The Green Party will likely make it an election issue and that should at least force the other two parties say where they intend to go on the issue.