Front-Line Workers Risking Coronavirus Should Get A 'Courage Bonus': NDP
OTTAWA — Minimum-wage workers who are getting up every morning to perform essential work should get some federal cash too, the NDP says.
NDP Finance critic Peter Julian called on the Liberal government Thursday to beef up the minimum wage to ensure no one who risks their health to pack grocery store shelves, operate cash registers at local pharmacies, and provide sanitary services in nursing homes across the country makes less than $15 an hour, with a top-up of 20 per cent to all essential workers during this crisis.
“It’s like a courage bonus,” Julian told HuffPost Canada. “We are expecting these people to lead our country through this, when you think about it.
“The cleaners at the hospitals, people who are literally in very low, low-paying jobs, and yet the future of us fighting back and beating this virus depends on the work they do every day. And we need to have them at work, but we need to compensate them fairly.”
The changes should be given in recognition of the risks they face for the rest of us, he said.
A minimum-wage employee at a Canadian Tire in Oshawa wrote an email to HuffPost saying they are afraid to go to work. The store is located next to a Superstore where a 48-year-old manager died from COVID-19.
“We’re considered an essential retailer, yet we sell no groceries (except for coffee and chips),” wrote the individual, whose name we are withholding. “We’ve been out of toilet paper and disinfectants for weeks. But we’re selling twenty times the ammunition we usually do. We’ve sold seven treadmills, three playground sets, two gaming chairs and a paddle boat, all essential. Everybody is stressed out, but most of us cannot afford to quit.”
Quebec premier working to fix discrepancy
The hourly minimum wage across Canada varies from $11.65 in Newfoundland and Labrador to $15 in Alberta. In Ontario, workers make $14 an hour.
Quebec Premier François Legault told Quebecers last week he is well aware that some essential workers...
