Premier Stephen McNeil wants workers looking for paid sick leave to join a union and engage in the collective bargaining process. He made the call at yesterday’s COVID-19 press conference.
We talk with an early childhood educator who is concerned about going back to work maybe as soon as early June. “Right now there’s a lot of talk going into the plan to reopen about PPEs, there’s a lot of talk about ratios. And those are good things that we need to talk about, but I don’t see enough talk about sick time, or wages. And those are two things that we know were part of the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes,” she says.
NS Federation of Labour pres Danny Cavanagh: The province needs to ensure that all workers have access to paid sick leave, paid emergency days, and be paid a fair and decent wage. If workers contract the virus, they need a guarantee that they will automatically be entitled to workers’ compensation
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Nova Scotia’s health care Council of Unions is calling on government and employers to sign onto a safety protocol that ensures frontline workers are protected and supported during this unprecedented time. Tony Seed reports.
Danny Cavanagh, president of the NS Federation of Labour, lists a series of demands and recommendations based on feedback from workers from across the province. Danny tackles workers safety, job security, paid sick leave, migrant workers, EI, and more. It’s a good list!
These are difficult times for many workers, and the people delivering the mail are no exception. “It would seem not all management are taking this pandemic as seriously as our membership, which often leaves our members with no choice but to refuse unsafe working conditions. There have been many occasions that individual managers and supervisors have made the wrong call,” writes Toni MacAfee.
Danny Cavanagh: “Are you a worker in Nova Scotia? Take a minute and help us get better protections for all workers in the midst of this pandemic.”
Media release: Nova Scotia is now the only jurisdiction in Canada that neither has legislation nor has publicly announced the intention of introducing legislation to outlaw bullying and psychological harassment in workplaces. All other provinces and the federal jurisdiction have or have promised a definition of workplace injury that includes psychological damage.
In Nova Scotia most stores must be closed on Monday’s Heritage Day, but to qualify for a day off with pay you must meet quite a few conditions.
Stand-sit desks are great, but health benefits and job security are better, writes Lisa Cameron after working some fixed-term contracts which weren’t what they promised.