BY: JESSICA POINTON
With many losing their jobs or being stuck in the cycle of layoffs during the pandemic, labour issues have come to a head. Workers' rights, job stability, and employment quality are critical topics for the upcoming election.
The Province passed the right-to-disconnect rule to allow people to set boundaries and avoid working after set hours, which will take effect on June 2. While this pertains to the right to disengage from work-related communications for the sake of a healthier work-life balance, it does not resolve the issue of having to work more than one job to survive.
Premier Ford has not taken steps to raise the minimum wage significantly. When Ford's government raised the minimum wage to $15 in January of this year, it came seven years after the campaign; the Fight for $15 and Fairness started in Ontario, making it an outdated increase with today's inflation. With the cost of living soaring and people finding themselves in positions where they may need multiple sources of income, extra time away from work seems like less of a possibility in the first place. $15 per hour seems out of touch with reality for those who can't afford to pay rent even though they work full-time. Those who make more than minimum wage still face climbing consumption rates for food and gas prices.
People occupying non-traditional roles, including gig workers and the self-employed, are still incredibly vulnerable without extended paid sick days. Without the job stability provided through compensated absences, people can be let go or fall behind on their bills. Contract workers deserve protection during unforeseeable circumstances like a pandemic. We saw firsthand how people could not afford to stay home and how that impacted the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is not disappearing, at least not right away, and neither is the need for benefits. Small businesses seek government action to address
With all of the new development proposed, Ontario requires more local skilled workers. We all should have learned that people need time to recover from illness and deserve to make ends meet in the process. Workers from all industries seek benefits and security. The Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Benefit will provide three paid sick days to those in need until July 31, 2022, and that's not enough time to cover necessary isolation or the period required for someone to recuperate from being ill. The Premier has not provided an adequate solution for paid sick days. The Leader of the Opposition, Andrea Horwath, and Ontario NDP MPPs have been calling for more paid sick days and have circled petitions to the public calling for immediate, pre-emptive action. The Ford government voted against the Ontario NDP's Stay Home if You Are Sick Act and stood against the sick day policy suggestions numerous times.
Through the deployment of emergency benefits, the subject of basic income is also circling as an option to support those in need or going through a transition. If the Province has funds available in an emergency, then they have the capacity to enact a long-term arrangement to alleviate unnecessary financial hardship in our communities. The point of financial assistance is to enable stability, but anyone relying on Ontario Works lives in precarity. A guaranteed basic income could become an angle to help people out of poverty. In a world emerging out of the thick of a virus, the competing parties in this provincial election will need to meet the moment and plan to improve employment quality and livability in Ontario. The role of the government should be to support the people and the economy in a relevant and lasting way.