May Day phone zap for Paid Sick Leave and $15/hour!

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/122441853207642/

Join the Fight for $15 and Fairness on zoom on May Day as we do a phone zap for a $15 minimum wage and employer-paid paid sick days for all workers. May Day is International Workers’ Day, and we’re going to honour this history by carrying on the struggle for better wages and working conditions for all workers.

On May Day, join us in calling provincial politicians to demand ten employer-paid sick days for all workers, and a $15 minimum wage.

Here is a loose script that you can follow in calling or emailing politicians. Feel free to put your own unique spin on it!

Hello, my name is ________ and I live ________.

I’m calling because I am very frustrated that your government has not already implemented ten paid sick days and a $15 minimum wage for all workers.

Whether it is workers in part-time employment trying to string together multiple jobs in order to make ends meet and accidentally spreading COVID-19, or workers without paid sick days who can’t stay home from work at the first sign of symptoms because they can’t afford to lose pay, fair wages and paid sick days must be central in curbing COVID now and recovering from it.

The evidence shows paid sick days are effective at curbing transmission of infectious disease, including COVID-19.

• Yet, 58% of workers across Canada have no paid sick days, and that jumps to over 70% of low-income workers

• Even 75% of workers in the service sector, including food services, and 50% in health & social services sectors where the risk of exposure is highest, have no paid sick days.

• No one should have to choose between staying home sick & paying the bills

• Black, Indigenous, and workers of colour are over-represented in low-wage, frontline work & are most at risk of becoming infected

• We hear a lot about thanking essential workers, but why is the government not protecting them with paid sick days?

The CRSB has been widely criticized as inadequate to meeting the challenges presented by COVID-19. Ten employer-paid sick days a year are needed to ensure that no worker experiences a disruption in their pay by staying home when sick.

I’m calling on you to use the substantial power that you have to make paid sick leave and a $15 minimum wage a reality for Nova Scotians now.

Thank you.

Contact Information:

Call Iain Rankin, Premier:

902-404-7036

Email: info@iainrankin.ca

Call Lena Metlege, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education

902-455-1610

Email: lena@metlegediab.ca

Call Zach Churchill, Minister of Health and Wellness

Phone: 902-742-4444

Email: ca@zachchurchill.com