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Sick pay far away

‘Businesses hanging on by a thread,’ MacKay says, amid demands for paid sick leave

STU NEATBY POLITICAL REPORTER stu.neatby @theguardian.pe.ca @stu_neatby

P.E.I.’s minister of economic growth has downplayed expectations that the province will mandate additional paid sick days to Island workers anytime soon.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Matthew MacKay said he has talked to staff in his department about offering more paid sick days. He believes the province will offer more paid sick leave for workers “eventually” but said consultations will need to be done with employers and others before labour legislation changes are made.

“There’s not a worse time (than) right now,” MacKay said. “We’ve got businesses hanging on by a thread to survive during COVID. And I just don’t think now’s the time to bring it up.”

MacKay added the province has introduced a $1-million COVID-19 special leave fund, which allows employers to apply for government money to defray the cost of offering up to six paid sick days. Wages are paid up to a maximum of $20 an hour or $160 per day.

“We felt this was the quickest way for government to step up at this point, until we can get the time to further examine what paid sick leave could look like,” MacKay said.

The federal government also offers the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which allows workers to apply for a $500 per week payment if they are sick, self-isolating or have an underlying health condition.

However, labour advocates say these programs are no replacement for paid sick days.

“If you’re working and you’re on the (Canada Recovery Benefit), then you’ve got to wait to get the money,” said Carl Pursey of the P.E.I. Federation of Labour. “If you have paid sick days where you work, if you’re not feeling well, you could take a couple of days off and get paid.”

Pursey said most low-wage workers who lack access to paid sick leave are women.

P.E.I.’s Employment Standards Act allows for one day of employer-paid sick leave per year. But employers only need to offer this to workers who have worked with the same employer for five years or more.

P.E.I. and Quebec are the only provinces that currently offer any mandated paid sick days.

Nationally, congregate workplace settings have often been the site of COVID-19 outbreaks. Data suggests most third-wave outbreaks in Toronto were linked to workplaces. In Ontario, the latest spike in COVID-19 cases prompted the Ford government to pass a temporary provision to mandate up to three days of employer-paid sick days. Employers can apply for government funds to defray these costs.

P.E.I. has experienced some outbreaks linked to workplaces, including during last December’s circuit breaker.

In P.E.I.’s largest workplace, some individuals may not have paid sick day coverage. The Cavendish Farms plant in New Annan employs around 700 people. Employees have access to two days of paid sick leave per year under their collective agreement but only if they have been employed for five years.

Craig Walsh, a union representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 864, which represents workers at the plant, said Cavendish Farms management has been paying the wages of workers who get a COVID-19 test or who have to self-isolate.

But Walsh said he believed the province should be mandating paid sick days for all.

“If you’re not going to do it in the middle of a global pandemic, then when are you ever going to do it?” he said.

The Guardian reached out to a communications representative at J.D. Irving Ltd., which owns the plant, but did not receive a response by deadline.

Pursey said the economic downturn caused by the pandemic should not excuse government from mandating paid sick days.

“There’s a lot of businesses here where the profits are higher than they ever were,” Pursey said, referring specifically to grocery chains like Superstore and Walmart. “Some of the businesses that are hanging on by a thread, the government should help them out with the paid sick days.”

THE ISLAND

en-ca

2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281608128308036

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