Opinion: Essential Work Should Come With Essential Pay

Senator Omidvar comments on how the outbreak of COVID-19 has illustrated the importance of fairly compensating essential workers.

During this health crisis, some matters have become crystal clear. Our understanding of “essential work” has been sharpened by the context. We now realize that our lives can no longer carry on without grocery store workers, truck drivers,  long-term care staff and temporary foreign workers. When the chips are down, these jobs matter to keep us safe and fed. These workers have returned to work every day to look after our parents and grandparents and to feed us.

In normal times, we don’t think of them that way. They are not paid very well, as most are paid around minimum wage or slightly higher, and they often work in subpar conditions. They lack job security, work precarious jobs and don’t have benefits which force them to have multiple jobs pay the bills.

In long-term care, we have seen the results of decades of neglect by provincial governments leading to suffering and dying of patients in places like Bobcageyon and Dorval. Unions have pointed out that the reliance on part time and casual staff has forced many to take on more than one job to make ends meet. “Chronic staff shortages have meant that residents do not get the care they need or deserve. Such working conditions make the transmission of illness from one facility to another much more likely. In a pandemic, that has proven to be deadly,” writes Unifor president Jerry Dias.

For many years, grocery store workers have complained about their working conditions, a lack of pay and benefits. They have taken their companies to court to fight for better supports but have not seen the benefits because governments haven’t prioritized these groups of workers.

We also now realize that our food supply would be significantly disrupted without the labour of temporary foreign workers. The federal government has exempted agricultural workers from outside the country from the travel ban, underlining how essential they are to our food security. And yet, it is disheartening to hear about the countless stories of abuse. Discrimination seems to be baked into the system. Deductions are made from their meagre pay checks for EI and CPP even though they will never be able to draw from the benefits they are paying into.  A report by the Toronto Star found that Mexican workers on farms complained about physical abuse, deplorable living conditions with rooming houses riddled with bedbugs and rats and bathrooms leaking of fecal matter. Promises of change made by employers are not often met. The government has made changes to help deal with abuse, such as, not tying workers to one employer which gives them flexibility to leave abusive workplaces. But more is needed.

It’s encouraging that many employers in these sectors have increased the pay of workers during the crisis. Governments, including the federal government, have stepped in to top up employee pay for long-term care personnel and other essential workers. But these are only temporary measures and will likely be turned back after the dark days of the pandemic are over.

Governments and citizens can’t let that happen. It’s imperative that we rethink our notions and preconceptions of work. To reconsider the value we place on certain occupations. Our workforce is changing and we need to get ahead of the curve. We owe it to workers that have put themselves at great harm to support our nation. Let’s not just say thanks but back it up with real and lasting changes to give these workers the respect they deserve. They stepped up for us, it is now time that we step up for them.

Their essential work must be compensated by essential pay.

Senator Ratna Omidvar is an independent senator from Ontario.

Read the Op-ed on the iPolitics website