Windsorites say provincial paid sick leave program is a 'good start,' but falls short

Windsor line cook Joey Wrightsays Ontario's plans for a temporary paid sick day program is coming too late and falls short of what workers need.

On Wednesday, the provincial government announced a plan to provide three paid sick days through a temporary program that would end in September.The proposed Ontario COVID-19 Worker Protection Benefit Program would pay up to $200 per day for workers who are sick, havesymptoms, have a mental health issue or need to be vaccinated, andwill be retroactive to April 19.

The sick days would not need to be taken consecutivelyand no sick note is required.

"We're over a year in this pandemic, why did it take so long?" Wright told CBC News Wednesday.

He says the proposal from the government is a "good start,"but not enough to really help those working on the frontlines.

"If you get hit with the flu, you can be out for a week," he said."If I have the common cold, three days might be enough."

"The fact that they continue to strictly limit this to COVID-19 is going to be detrimental in the long run. This isn't just a COVID-19 issue, this has been an issue all the time."

'Nobody wins'

India 47 Restaurant and Bar owner Nick Aujla told CBC News that "nobody wins" when it comes to the proposed plans.

As an employer, Aujla says it's hard to find staff to backfill these days when any of his workers call in sick this makes it challenging for him to run his business,whichis already operating on a "skeleton crew."

On the other hand, he says he understands how this benefits employees but doesn't think it's enough.

"I don'tknow if in three days you cant go get tested. You really don't have enough time," he said. "I guess it's a start, maybe they'll adjust it as we move forward and we'll see what happens."

If the legislation is passed, the programwill be administered through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and employers will be reimbursed in full, the province says.

Worker wants more details on the program

As of Wright, he said the government's announcement Wednesday left many gaps,such as whether the days consider the amount of time someone is isolating and waiting for COVID-19 test results.

"We're not at the time where we can just throw paid sick days out at random. This needs to be clear. This needs to be concise. It needs to be explainedproperly and it needs to be accessible for people to gain access to because COVID-19 has been difficult for everybody and we need the government to take the lead on that," Wright said.