The BC Federation of Labour wants the Federal and Provincial governments to guarantee sick leave for workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government Employees Union thinks it’s not just the government that needs to be proactive.

BCGEU President Stephanie Smith was on NL Newsday and said employers need to step up to the plate and make sure their workers will be taken care of.

“It doesn’t even take a legislative change, employers can make this determination,” she said.

“Trader Joe’s came out with an announcement that they will provide their employees with paid sick time off if they need to self quarantine because they’ve been in contact or at a high risk area or because they aren’t feeling well.”

Smith thinks employers need to look at the big picture.

“I’ve been asked lots of questions, well how do businesses afford something like that? Well, one has to ask, how does a business afford to be completely shut down? How does a business afford the consequences of perhaps being an epicenter for infection.”

And she says employees also have to think about how they react.

“I thing there’s definitely a roll for government but we all play a roll,” she noted. “Workers have to play a roll for making responsible decisions, employers play a roll by ensuring that the supports and resources for those employees to make those decisions are available to them.”

Smith added many people simply cannot afford to take two weeks off, noting her own son works in the service industry and does not get paid sick leave.