Back in January, the members of our union local unanimously voted in favour of a motion demanding that the Ontario government legislate paid sick days for all. We’ve now entered a devastating third wave of this pandemic, and frontline workers still don’t have access to paid sick days in this province as the Conservatives continue to ignore public health advice.
Doug Ford made some vague statements recently indicating his government may finally, after nearly 8000 deaths, hundreds of workplace outbreaks, and voting against real paid sick days 21 TIMES, provide some makeshift version of paid sick leave. But Ford has already indicated that he won’t be requiring employers to fund paid sick leave. Provinces can mandate that businesses pay for paid sick leave, but once again, Doug Ford is prioritizing business interests over the health of workers.
Workers can’t afford to wait, and we can’t afford to trust Doug Ford to prioritize our health and our safety.
A just and adequate paid sick leave program needs to be permanent, seamless, and apply to all workers with no exceptions. We know that pressure is mounting on the Ford government to immediately legislate paid sick days, but we have to keep up the pressure.
On April 28th – the National Day of Mourning – at 10:00AM, we will engage in a 10 minute coordinated virtual workplace action by phone zapping elected officials, demanding 10 paid sick days and safer working conditions for everyone in Ontario.
Please register here.
What is a Phone Zap?
Phone zaps are a direct way to let public officials know what we want! We will call the offices of:
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Health Minister Christine Elliott
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Long Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton
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Labour Minister Monte McNaughton
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Education Minister Stephen Lecce
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Premier Doug Ford
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Your OWN Conservative MPP (click here, scroll down, and enter your postal code – https://www.ola.org/en/members)
When you join the call, a facilitator will walk you through a script (which you are free to adapt and make your own!) and the contact information for the politicians mentioned above.
Make it Public!
Before you join the call, use one of these zoom backgrounds or profile photos, and remember to post on social media (if you can) using #10for10 and #PaidSickDays or #PaidSickDaysSaveLives!