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February 4, 2021
TORONTO- Unifor commends the Toronto City Council for passing a motion in support of paid sick days, and calls on all other municipalities to follow suit.
“By passing this motion, the Toronto City Council is showing leadership and the provincial government must now do the same,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Doctors, workers, and now the province’s largest municipality are all saying the same thing: Ontario must legislate paid sick days.”
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. Months later, that number is likely to be far higher.
“I congratulate the Toronto City Council for this move, and for joining the resounding call for paid sick days in the province,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director. “Worker’s actions helped raise this issue, and we’re bringing this demand to municipalities across the province, and across Canada to ask that they do the same.”
Workers need access to job protected, paid sick days in order to stay home in the event they are sick or have contracted the novel coronavirus and are asymptomatic. Workers should not have to choose whether to work when they are sick or starve and miss rent. A recent study for Peel Region proves this is happening. A quarter of the nearly 8000 people went to work while symptomatic and eighty went to work after testing positive.
Unifor members are invited to join the call for paid sick days at www.unifor.org/sickdayson.
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.
For further information or to arrange a FaceTime, Zoom or Skype interview contact Sarah McCue, Unifor National Communications Representative at 416-458-3307 (cell) or @email.
