By: Matias De Dovitiis
“Not all heroes wear capes" is a phrase that we have all heard since COVID-19 started. Front line workers who kept us fed, healthy, and safe during the worst first days of the pandemic, and we can all agree that they did this while putting themselves at risk. While the chaos of those first months led to shortages in crucial supplies at the grocery stores and created havoc in the economy, many people working in essential industries got up every morning, put on their shoes, and went to work. These workers stocked the shelves in supermarkets, showed up at construction sites, and put on PPE at hospitals to keep the rest of us safe.
We now understand the jobs that are key to the functioning of society: blue-collar jobs, which are often poorly paid, and include unsafe working conditions. It may seem strange to point out, but custodians, grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, utility workers, and personal support workers are more essential to the economy than their managers who receive bigger paycheques, at least in the short run.
Every other commercial on television or radio expresses thanks to the front line workers and healthcare workers who continue to keep us safe, even while we are starting to go back to normal. However, we should not go back to treating these workers poorly; they deserve better.
The big three supermarket chains in Canada have decided to reduce the "hero" pay that their employees were receiving. In the height of the pandemic, many employers gave their essential employees $2/hour bonuses. They did this while promoting the importance of their employees in the press. Now that some of the hype is gone, they want to quietly pull back the bonuses, even though we are still in a pandemic. These same supermarket chains are reducing the hazard pay even while raising dividend payments for their stock owners because they had record-breaking profits during COVID-19 as customers stocked up and restaurants closed down.
As a result of this reduction in pay, corporate managers for some companies like Loblaws and Sobeys have been summoned to Ottawa to answer questions from Members of Parliament. In Alberta, Sobey employees voted to go on strike, protests have sprung up in Halifax, and various petitions are circulating Canada-wide.
Ultimately, how we treat blue-collar workers impacts us all. Giving workers a living wage boosts the economy, and big, profitable corporations can, by definition, afford to pay their staff better wages. There is no excuse to pay our heroes any less.
Stores reducing "hero" pay for their employees are:
Loblaws: owners of Loblaws, Fortinos, Dominion, Valu-Mart, Wholesale Club, T&T Supermarket, Superstore, No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart and others. Biggest supermarket chain in Canada.
Empire Co: owners of Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Price Chopper, Thrifty Food, FreshCo. and others. Second biggest chain in Canada.
Metro: third largest supermarket chain in Canada.
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-chains-covid-pay-1.5609290 https://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/sobeys-parent-company-raises-quarterly-dividend-after-cutting-employee-hazard-pay
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/trudeau-grocery-store-pay_ca_5eee8326c5b6699f0d3bf8b6
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-safeway-strike-vote-1.5632291