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Health & Safety in the workplace during COVID-19
Health and safety in the workplace during COVID-19
Secretary-Treasurer’s Message - Kelly Tosato
Health and safety concerns continue to be the most pressing issue for our members right now.
Navigating the ever-changing, confusing, and sometimes conflicting information put forth by government, health officials, and employers can be frustrating. Your employer should be abiding by any and all regulations for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other health and safety measures such as cleaning, maximum number of customers or people in an indoor space, and more.
Above all else, you should be as confident as possible at work with the PPE you, your co-workers, and visitors or customers are wearing. Please speak up if you have any concerns. You can talk to your workplace Health & Safety Reps, your Union Stewards, or your Union Representative.
Members continue to wonder why employers haven’t reinstated (or in many cases, paid any) pandemic premiums. It’s infuriating to see a number of these employers continue to report record profits and increased shareholder dividends while refusing to pay the true “heroes” anything more than they have to.
At the end of October, the Union sent open letters to the federal and provincial governments demanding they step in to do their part and fight for the constituents who elected them – the very people continuing to work day in and day out through this pandemic.
Among other things, we asked for both branches of the government to increase minimum wage, legislate pandemic pay, and to improve funding for healthcare and make long-term care part of the public healthcare system. In addition, and similar to the UFCW’s submission on the provincial budget, the letter to Premier Ford included the need for 10 paid sick days per year for all workers. Find the full content of the letters at bit.ly/ufcwopenletters.
When it comes to working through this pandemic, if you believe you’ve contracted COVID-19 through work you should file a WSIB Claim.
The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) reports that as of November 20, 2020, the number of allowed claims related to COVID-19 was 6,596. It’s important to file the Form 6 for a WSIB claim if you contract COVID-19 at work. Given the long-lasting side effects that some patients with the virus experience, it’s very important to make sure you get your WSIB claim in if your positive COVID-19 test is a result of work.
The WSIB has also received more than 3,800 exposure forms. That form, called a Program for Exposure Incident Reporting (PEIR) form, is something workers should fill out to report a known exposure to the virus at work. You don’t need to have symptoms or a positive test result. The PEIR is about establishing timelines and may become extremely important for any future claims.
Read more about COVID-19 exposure in the workplace by scanning the QR code here with your phone's camera to read an article we published earlier this year. As always, if you have questions you can speak to you Union Representative.
For the next little while, all in-person courses, conferences, and seminars will continue to be postponed. We are conducting in-person meetings such as ratifications and grievances when necessary and where municipalities allow such meetings. As you can see on our cover and on page 13, some creativity is needed to conduct large meetings like the ratification vote for Cargill Dunlop that took place at a drive-in.
I know we all hope to get back to some version of normal life next year – the sooner, the better. And I know that some things will forever be changed. But throughout the holidays and beyond, I hope we can all continue to find the compassion and empathy necessary to rely on each other and weather this storm.
In Solidarity, Kelly Tosato
treasurer@ufcw175.com
