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Ontario’s COVID-19 response plans must include paid sick leave

March 20, 2020

TORONTO—The Ontario government passed Bill 186 yesterday and introduced measures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus, but failed to provide any paid sick leave for those in quarantine or isolation.

“This legislation falls far short of where we needed it to be in order to have a comprehensive response to this pandemic,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “If we are going to get through this crisis, then the plan has to start with giving everyone directed to self-isolate or quarantine paid sick days.”

Other jurisdictions, including Quebec and Prince Edward Island, currently have a minimum number of paid sick days employers are required to provide for workers. Prior to 2019, Ontario had requirements for two paid sick days which was repealed by the Ford government’s Bill 47. One provision of Bill 47, allowing employers to require sick notes was repealed by the newly introduced legislation.

The measures contained in Bill 47, including the repeal of paid sick days, were widely opposed by Unifor and a broad coalition of labour organizations, community, anti-poverty, and migrant workers’ advocacy groups due to the threats posed to public health.

“Ontarians should not be put in the position of choosing whether to protect their health and that of their friends, family, and co-workers or picking up their next paycheque, and that’s what this legislation appears to do,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor’s Ontario Regional Director. “The government’s COVID-19 plan shouldn’t be aimed at protecting the pocketbooks of employers but should help protect our health.”

Unifor has urged the Ford government, and all Premiers across the country, to immediately enact 14 policy measures as part of their respective COVID-19 response plans, including instituting a minimum of 14 paid sick days for those in quarantine or directed to self-isolate by medical authorities. The measures also include creating direct, emergency income assistance measures to all workers and families – including those ineligible for Employment Insurance benefits. The contents of the letter and list of recommendations can be viewed here.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

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Ontario workers need paid sick days now

Woman sits on a couch blowing her nose, with a thermometer in her hand.

 

The lack of paid sick days for all workers in Ontario persists as a stain on our society, and is leaving too many at risk from COVID-19 and other contagious illnesses.

Workplaces are by far, the largest contributor to the spread of COVID-19. By mid-December, nearly 8,000 workers in Ontario had contracted COVID-19 on the job. A month later, that number is likely to be far higher.

At this point, 10 months into the pandemic, the speedy implementation of employer-paid sick days should not be a matter of public debate.

It should be implemented, province-wide, immediately.  Momentum is on our side. We are the majority, but we need to take collective action in order to win.

Since Doug Ford and his conservative Ministers are unwilling to do what it takes, we need to increase the pressure on them.

The City of Toronto is on its way toward adding a strong voice to pressure the province to implement paid sick days. We think that all municipalities should join the fight.

The fact is, each of our local communities, towns and cities have citizens to protect from COVID-19, and Premier Ford isn’t doing it for them.

So, whether you have paid sick days or you have none, this issue affects you.

Add your voice today and call your city councilor.

 

Make the call

Click here now…Make The Call

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Unifor members at CAMI ratify agreement with General Motors

January 18, 2021

INGERSOLL—Members of Unifor Local 88 who work at the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario have voted by 91% to ratify a new agreement with General Motors that brings $1 billion in investments to begin large scale production of electric commercial delivery vans.

“This is the result of collaboration with the Ontario and federal governments, and General Motors. I want to thank them and the Local 88 Master Bargaining Committee for working so hard to secure jobs for our members and create new ones for this community,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

General Motors will spend $1 billion to transform the CAMI assembly plant into Canada’s first mass-market producer of electric commercial vans to support its new business line BrightDrop.

Unifor Local 88 represents 1900 workers at the CAMI Assembly plant, where work will begin immediately to prepare for EV600 production starting in November as the Chevrolet Equinox program is phased out in 2023.

This agreement brings the total investment negotiated by Unifor to nearly $6 billion after agreements were ratified with General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler in 2020 that also included support from the federal and Ontario governments.

“To achieve this level of commitment for auto manufacturing shows what can happen when we have a collective vision to secure this sector and create good jobs for Canadians,” said Dias.

“While the process was complicated by COVID-19, we refused to let a pandemic impede our progress to find ‘made in Canada’ solutions.”

This three-year agreement follows a historic pattern setting deal first reached with Ford that includes a five per cent increase to hourly rates, a $7,250 productivity and quality bonus, a total of $4,000 in inflation protection bonuses, improved benefits, shift premiums, and restoration of the 20 per cent wage differential for skilled trades.

The deal also makes major improvements to the New Hire Program and includes an agreement to create an anti-racism action plan, establish a new Racial Justice Advocate in the workplace.

“The stakes going into these negotiations were high with the Equinox program ending, and there wasn’t a time during these difficult negotiations that we were not thinking about our members and their families, and we are grateful to all the members for their solidarity as we worked to ensure our plant is viable,” said Mike Van Boekel, Chair of the Master Bargaining Committee.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

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COVID-19 public health measures and restrictions | COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Ontario

COVID-19 public health measures and restrictions

Find out about the declaration of emergency and the latest public health measures, advice and restrictions as we continue to respond to the challenge of  COVID-19covid 19. Stay home, stay safe, save lives.

Click here for information on the Ontario Stay at home order….

Declaration of emergency

In response to the alarming rise of COVID-19covid 19 cases, a declaration of emergency was made on January 12, 2021 for all of Ontario.

This decision was made in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other health experts.

The declaration of emergency allows the government to:

  • strengthen public health and workplace safety measures
  • create and enforce emergency orders

The purpose is to help:

  • keep people at home as much as possible and save lives
  • stop the spread of COVID-19covid 19 in communities
  • prevent the hospital system from becoming overwhelmed
  • protect vulnerable populations and those who care for them

The results of the enhanced public health measures will be evaluated throughout the provincial emergency to determine when it is safe to lift any restrictions, or if they need to be extended.

To read more click the link at the top of this posting

 

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Building Back Better in 2021

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Fri, 01/08/2021

By Jerry Dias

At the beginning of the pandemic, Unifor made two broad demands of government.

The first was to protect public health and ensure all workers had access to sick leave and immediate income assistance. The second was to build an economic stimulus package big and bold enough to speed Canada’s economic recovery and build the Canada so many of us believe is possible.

With the new year starting, I refuse to go back to the economy we left behind – of economic injustice, inequality, precarious work and climate change. This is about working together to build the economy we all deserve.

It won’t be easy, but a better world is possible if we put in the work now to make it happen.

COVID-19 proved just how important personal care work in long-term care homes and childcare centres is to building a strong and resilient economy. Retail workers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, delivery drivers were all finally seen and respected for the vital workers they are.

We learned not only how much they struggled because of the pandemic, but how much they had struggled before it as well. The result was that amid a year full of struggle and hard times, we also saw inspiring solidarity and bold ideas.

Such solidarity and bold ideas must guide us now.

This new year brings a chance to overhaul the public programs that failed us and to build the ones we need. We still don’t know when the once-in-a-century economic crisis brought on by the pandemic will end or how volatile that recovery might be, but we do know that focused government action is vital to that recovery.

Unifor’s build back better plan, released in June, sets out broad themes for getting this done. Small tweaks are not enough. As governments at all levels and political stripes write their 2021 budgets, we must all ensure that supports for workers and economic stimulus are front and centre.

A $15 minimum wage and permanent reforms to Employment Insurance would boost the income security and improve the lives of millions of Canadians, along with healthy working conditions through stronger employment standards and labour law.

Healthcare workers in hospitals and long-term care centres have been lauded as heroes, but we continue to see outbreaks at the homes where they work. Two Unifor members died of COVID-19, while caring for others, along with many more across the county. Any recovery must put care before profits.

The tourism and travel industries have been devastated by the pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions. They may not recover without immediate assistance.

Canada needs a historic investment in green jobs and decarbonization that will ensure the stability and quality of work in the energy sector while moving Canada towards its climate targets.

Governments need to build the public programs and infrastructure that has been so long promised. Programs such as childcare, pharmacare, made-in-Canada public transit, affordable housing and clean drinking water are a bare minimum here.

We have seen our government recommit to Canadian auto manufacturing. As we move into 2021, this commitment must be extended to aerospace, transportation and heavy equipment, food production, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, media, shipbuilding and forestry.

Government has continuously promised that support for the hardest hit sectors is coming soon. That support cannot come soon enough, and when it arrives the programs must lay out strong, enforceable conditions that ensure benefits flow to workers and the sustainment of Canadian jobs.

Clearly, we are not short on solutions. The question is whether the political will exists to get this done. Deficit hawks will say our plan is impossible, too expensive and unsustainable.

Wrong.

Think about it. Before the pandemic, Canada already had too many people running on empty, living paycheque to paycheque trying to make ends meet. It was unsustainable then. It’s unconscionable now.

We already know government spending during and after crisis is the fastest way to rebuild. Doing that with a focus on job creation and improvements to job quality will mean the country rebuilds in a more equitable and sustainable way. Right from the first month of the pandemic, Unifor has been advocating for strong public health measures and stronger income supports.

We were first out of the gate shaping the vision of what is possible to achieve coming out of this crisis. As we move through 2021 there will be plenty of opportunities to participate – in fact, there already are. Our demands for emergency drug coverage and petition for a $15 minimum wage are active and waiting to be signed and shared.

Members from across the country and in every industry are meeting with government officials, writing letters and marching in protest when bad decisions are made and our jobs or working conditions are undermined.

As the vaccines roll out and the end of the pandemic comes into view, there is one thing that is certain: Unifor will be advocating for our members and a strong economic recovery every step of the way. We will not take our foot off the gas.