Alberta NDP Labour Critic Christina Gray. (file photo)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

In Support Of Alberta Workers

NDP says UCP must bring in paid sick leave as workers face Omicron

Dec 22, 2021 | 4:48 PM

In the face of an Omicron-driven fifth wave, the Alberta NDP Caucus is renewing its call for the UCP government to bring in paid sick leave legislation to support Alberta workers.

The party says while the UCP has repeatedly denied this request since the start of the pandemic, the Opposition is demanding that Alberta workers get the same support already available in provinces across Canada, including British Columbia and Manitoba.

“The Chief Medical Officer of Health is telling Albertans that with an Omicron-driven fifth wave, we will see transmission rise to heights we’ve never seen before and we don’t know what that will do to our health-care system,“ said Alberta NDP Labour Critic Christina Gray.

“We need every Albertan to continue to do all that they can to help prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus and that means getting the vaccine, masking, social distancing and staying home when sick. Now, more than ever, Albertans need paid sick leave so that anyone who should stay home, can stay home, without worrying about any interruption of income, or loss of income.”

In May, party officials say the Alberta NDP drafted a bill and sent it to then UCP Labour Minister Jason Copping. The bill would have provided 10 days of paid sick leave to any Albertan who needed it and would reimburse employers the cost paid out to employees for the time.

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Opposition officials add, it would have been a temporary program that would remain in place until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the UCP refused to consider the bill.

“The UCP chose not to support Albertans in May but they must act now. Our health-care system and those who work in it are in jeopardy,” Gray said.

“Paid sick leave is an effective public health measure. We’ve done all the work, the bill is ready to go, and we are once again urging this government to work with us and support Albertans at this critical time.”

The Opposition says B.C. recently announced that all employees will be provided with a minimum of five days paid sick leave per year, starting January 1, further noting Manitoba extended its paid sick leave program last week, providing eligible employers with up to $600 per employee for a maximum of five full days of leave.