Why do the most needed workers suffer the most?

Hong, a 60-year-old Chinese man (the man asked not to give his last name), had been working at a commercial laundromat in the Greater Toronto Area for almost a decade when the pandemic struck. He says his employer provided employees with masks, gowns and eye protection. So when he hauled 18-kilogram bags of linens for $14.75 CAD an hour, he was able to maintain a social distance for his own safety.

But on New Year's Eve, when Hong was eating lunch with his colleague and friend Wang, it turned out that he wasn't feeling well. Hong says that Wang had a headache and was coughing, but thought it was allergies. And since his wife was out of work at the time, Wang said he couldn't afford an unpaid day off. But the next day he got worse, and the third day he had to stay home... Wang passed away from covid in February, a month before he retired.

Meanwhile, Hong was also confirmed to have a coronavirus infection, and the man was forced to take a sick leave. Soon after, he began showing symptoms of a covid infection: shortness of breath, weakness, fog in his head and severely swollen feet. Against his doctor's wishes, the man returned to work on January 30, when his two-week recovery sickness benefit (CRSB) expired.

But this isn't the end of the Hong story...

The workers are suffering more

Labour advocates say key Canadian workers — from warehouse workers to grocery store employees to caregivers in nursing homes — are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. So there is simply a need to raise wages and improve social protections for this category of citizens in the future.

Employment experts point out exactly what changes are seriously needed. First, global reforms to provincial and territorial labour codes are needed on wages for workers who are paid too little, with no job security or paid sick leave. Second, the largest corporations, the main employers of the workforce, need to become more accountable:

"I do believe that the pandemic crisis has shown how inadequate Canadian labour codes are in terms of protecting workers. And, most importantly, in terms of protecting vulnerable foreign workers," said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who has just retired. — I think it's only now that Canada has seen how the people who have been on the front lines and keeping the country alive by ensuring that all Canadians have the food that is delivered to them as well as making up for their other daily needs have been affected by the crisis. Now it has become clear how vulnerable these people are," added Hassan Yussuff.

Before the pandemic, most Canadians didn't realize how many people who go to work every day across the country don't have paid sick days when they just need to see a doctor.

Workers in Brampton and Scarborough, Ontario, were the hardest hit during the pandemic. They were diagnosed with the highest rate of coronavirus infection, hospitalizations and deaths than most of the rest of the country. And this happened because these areas are mostly inhabited by workers in warehouses and factories and other places where it is difficult to maintain social distance. The situation was also complicated by the fact that people went to work sick for fear of losing their wages or being out of work altogether.

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One problem is that each of Canada's provinces and territories has autonomous labour laws. There is no single main governing body in the country that can pass a general law ensuring mandatory sickness benefits and increasing the minimum wage.

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said in a statement to CBC radio that federal, provincial and territorial labour ministers met virtually the entire time the pandemic lasted and came to an agreement that they should "work together on these issues for the benefit of all Canadian workers."

It also says that in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic benefits, the federal government also made changes to the last budget. These changes affect low-income employees whose jobs are federally regulated. These include: airline baggage handlers, truck drivers and bank tellers. They are now eligible for federal benefits such as: increased sick leave with pay (CRSB), a $15 CAD minimum wage increase regardless of where they live.

"It will directly benefit more than 26,000 workers who currently earn less than $15 CAD in the federally regulated private sector in the future," the statement said.

On Jan. 1, new rules also went into effect to combat misclassification of employees in federally regulated industries — such as employees who produce food for airlines as contractors, when in fact they should be full-time employees.

Dina Ladd, executive director "Worker's action centr" in Toronto, an organization that advocates for workers in low-wage and precarious jobs, said the pandemic has shown that workers have no choice but to unite. But it still leaves the vast majority of Canadians with low-income and precarious jobs hoping for better wages and protection for workers where they live.

In addition to lobbying their governments, ordinary citizens can help address low incomes and poor social support by unionizing and calling on large corporations to improve their employees, Ladd said.

"In some ways, we've seen that small businesses have really stepped up and really improved their wages and working conditions. But the big corporations that have made a heck of a lot of money are not doing what they need to do," Ladd said. — We really need to fight back against the bigger corporations and tell them that they, as corporate citizens, have a responsibility to make sure their workers stay healthy and get their pay raises. And all the profits they made from the pandemic should not go into the coffers of their shareholders — a meaningful part of it should go to workers.

Small businesses should also be considered

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business warns that policy decisions on issues such as employer-sponsored sick leave or other payroll tax-funded programs must also be made with small businesses in mind, many of which are barely hanging on after long downtime caused by the pandemic.

"But legislation that applies to large companies usually applies to small companies as well," commented Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice president of national affairs.

As a consequence, small retailers, for example, cannot easily offset their costs without losing their business to giants like Amazon and Walmart: "It's harder to raise prices when your big competitors can produce everything in another country where labor costs are lower," Polmann observed.

"But until there are legislative changes, workers have no choice but to unionize," Ladd said.

Hong said he wants to tell Ontario Premier Doug Ford that the temporary sick pay, which expires Sept. 25, should be in effect indefinitely. Ontario's COVID-19 worker income protection benefit provides up to three days of sick pay, which some are calling insufficient for recovery from COVID. So far, the province has not announced plans to extend the program.

How did Hong's story end?

...Hong, a Chinese man, was forced to leave his job on 20 March when his doctor warned him that he could no longer continue working for long periods due to a swelling in his legs from a coronavirus infection... But fortunately, Hong's story does not end there. A friend told the man about the Workers' Action Centre, and he got help there.

Although Hong says he is not yet well enough to return to work, he has already been able to make up for some of his wages lost due to disability. The elderly Chinese man noted that help came to him when he was at rock bottom because of the pandemic.

Hong shared why he shared his story here: so that the huge number of foreign workers living in Canada who are also having problems, including English language problems, know where they can turn for help.