The BC Federation of Labour says it will continue the fight for paid sick leave during the pandemic given it was conspicuously absent from this weeks provincial budget.

President Laird Cronk tells NL News that most experts agree that paid sick leave for low-wage workers could be a crucial component in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

“Once you get below $30,000 a year in wages, almost 90-per cent of those workers have no sick pay provisions and they don’t have the ability to work from home so they’re at higher risk,” he said. It’s a perfect storm for them.

“So we need to take the economic untenable decision away, make sure they can stay home. It’s common sense. Lets stop the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.”

Cronk says COVID exposures at workplaces has become one of the primary modes of transmission for the virus in communities.

“When the worker wakes up in the morning and they have symptoms, they need to know they’re not going to lose wages and they can stay home and not worry about paying the rent,’ he added.

“That is the common sense way to stop the spread of COVID-19 until we can get enough vaccines in the arms of folks to end this deadly virus.”

Cronk says its not clear why Finance Minister Selina Robinson took a pass on paid sick days despite lobbying from a number of groups.

“It’s a small investment that’s going to save lives. It’s actually going to keep businesses open as well you know – there’s the new orders from a little over a week ago – three transmissions that result in COVID-19 or more in a workplace and its shut down for a minimum of ten days,” he added.

“It doesn’t make sense for workers to face this difficult decision economically, and we know some of them are going to work because of it when they have symptoms.”

Currently, workers in B.C. are eligible for up to three days of unpaid leave each year for personal illness or injury. On the COVID-19 front, as long as the public health emergency remains in place, people can take job-protected leave for as long as they need it, though it too is unpaid.

There are contingency funds in the 2021 budget which Finance Minister Selina Robinson said could be used to address any immediate needs that arise during the pandemic.

She noted B.C. is not considering paid sick leave, noting instead the government will continue to pressure the federal government to implement paid sick leave nationally.

Cronk though says the BC Federation of Labour will continue to urge the province to use some of the contingency funds to bring in paid sick days.

BC Fed pleased with paid leave for COVID-19 vaccines

Meanwhile, the BC Federation of Labour is lauding a move by the province to provide up to three hours of paid leave to get each of your COVID vaccine doses.

An amendment to the Employment Standards Act ensure no one will lose pay if they need time away from work to get vaccinated. Laird Cronk says that is a crucial tool in helping fight the pandemic.

“When they get their notice to get a vaccine – they don’t necessarily control that time. It could be during work time, and the thought of losing pay,” he said.

“We actually have practical examples that have come my way now of workers who have not shown up even in a workplace immunization set-up because it was their day off and they had other jobs.”

He says in one example from a workplace – everyone on shift who was offered the vaccine on site got one – while only 42 per cent of those who were off that day could come in for their shot.

“It’s not because they don’t want to be vaccinated. It’s not because they don’t want to protect themselves and their families. It’s because there is an economic barrier to them showing up,” Cronk said.

(Photo via BC Federation of Labour)