Canada’s unions are marking the National Day of Mourning by calling attention to the
human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For over a year, the world has faced unprecedented upheaval due to COVID-19. The
virus and its variants have wrought havoc on our society and laid bare a troubling lack
of protection for workers.

“Every year on the Day of Mourning, we mourn the dead and re-commit to fighting for
the living,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the CLC. “Over the last year, we have
witnessed how vulnerable we all are. This pandemic has shone a light on egregious
gaps in workplace protections and exposed employers who choose to put profits over
people.”

Evidence from across the country shows that the virus is spreading at work, not only in
health care settings but also in factories, meat works, warehouses, schools, offices,
transportation and other sectors. Workers have had to fight for access to appropriate,
effective protective equipment, COVID-safe practices at work, paid sick leave and
respect for their basic health and safety rights.

However, these problems existed before the pandemic and have resulted in millions of
deaths each year from work-related injuries and diseases. Every year, approximately
1000 Canadian workers and more than 2.7 million workers around the world die
because of an injury or an exposure that happens at work.

“Over the past year, Canadian workers have kept food on our tables, essential goods in
our cupboards, taught our children, cared for our loved ones and kept critical institutions
running,” said Yussuff. “They have done all of this, at serious risk and sometimes great
cost to their own health and safety. The failure of governments to prioritize paid sick
leave for workers in all jurisdictions puts everyone at risk, and is undoubtedly prolonging
and deepening the impacts of the pandemic.”

Without access to protected, paid sick days, workers have been forced to choose
between going to work sick, or not getting paid, and in some cases losing their jobs. An
estimated 58 percent of Canadian workers don’t have access to paid sick leave through
their employers, according to a report by the Decent Work and Health Network. That
number rises to 70 percent among people making less than $25,000 a year.
Canada’s unions call on all governments to immediately introduce or expand paid sick
leave to ensure workers aren’t required to go to work sick.

Read more about how Canada’s unions are fighting to protect the living by calling on all
governments to disaster-proof our country.

Check out what the Edmonton and Calgary District Labour Councils are doing to honour our fellow workers. 

For more information on the history of the Day of Mourning check out the article on the Alberta Labour History website by clicking HERE

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