Jacqueline's EMPR 240 Blog

Weblogs Round 3 “Canada: Coronavirus: Can Ontario Employees Refuse to Work?”

https://www.blaney.com/articles/coronavirus-can-ontario-employees-refuse-to-work

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Corona Virus outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on January 30^th, 2020 (WHO, 2020). With the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, Ontario employees are questioning if they are allowed to refuse to work. The article, titled “Canada: Coronavirus: Can Ontario Employees Refuse to Work?” investigates this question. With only one confirmed case in Ontario and nine under investigation (number subject to change), McClelland states that “the Coronavirus raises legitimate concern for both employees and employers in Ontario” (2020). The article enquires section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act by the Government of Ontario, states that anyone who has reason to believe their work would endanger themselves, is entitled to refuse work (2018). However, McClelland believes that this refers to physical work hazard, not biological hazards. The following figure represents the growth of the virus since December 30^th, 2019, until February 28^th, 2020, provided by the World Health Organization (2020). The rapid exponential growth can be seen varying across many regions.

If an employee has reasonable grounds to refuse work, they must report to a supervisor who must then investigate with the worker and/or a health and safety representative. If the reasonable grounds are proven to be true, inspectors from the Ministry of Labour must be informed. McClelland continues to say that based on the current Coronavirus status in the province of Ontario, employers are likely to argue that their workplace is “no more susceptible than the general population and reasonable precautions are in place” and that “the employee’s mere anxiety” is not reasonable justification to refuse to work (2020).

With the frightening exponential spread of the virus, at what point can employees refuse work? The Occupational Health and Safety Act allows the employer to adhere to precautions that attend to the employees concerns. In this case, precautions can include stricter hygiene rules, provided face masks and provided gloves. McClelland evidently states that it is important to recognize this is a “temporary measure based on the threat” of the virus. While workers who are taking precautionary measures are put at ease, the question of healthcare workers arises. He states that “merely because a role is inherently dangerous does not eliminate or relax an employer’s obligations”. Therefore, if one is working in healthcare or an occupation that puts them at higher risk of being exposed to the virus, employers must ensure they are taking every precautionary measure in this especially hazardous environment.

If the case count continues to rise, especially in North America, it will be interesting to see how services such as coffee shops, fast food chains, and other locations such as schools will operate. With the risk for students travelling to various locations across the world, and the concentration of students with weakened immune systems due to being overworked, exhausted, and in dense populations, these health and safety measures are sure to come into question, we just are not sure of when.

References:

McClelland, C. (2020, February 25). Coronavirus: Can Ontario Employees Refuse to Work? Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.blaney.com/articles/coronavirus-can-ontario-employees-refuse-to-work

Government of Ontario. (2018, November 19). Occupational Health and Safety Act. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01#BK81

World Health Organization. (2020, February 28). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – events as they happen. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

Weblogs Round 1 – EMPR 240

Canada’s Top 100 CEOs Have Already Earned More Than the Average Canadian Will All Year

In the first thirty-four hours of 2020, less than two days, and less than the average forty-hour work week, CEO’s across Canada made more than the average Canadian would all year. Less than two days to make a yearly salary, all within thirty-four hours. In an article by Brandie Weikle from CBC Business News, she states that the wage gap between CEO’s and their employees is continuing to grow. In 2018, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that the 100 highest paid CEO earned 227 times more than the average Canadian. The average individual Canadian income was $52,061, and the top 100 CEO’s earned an average of $11.8 million each. Weikle states that “the average Canadian worker saw their pay rise 2.6% between 2017 and 2018, top CEO’s received an 18% pay boost in that same time period” (2020). Over a decade, average income workers saw a 24% raise while Canada’s CEO’s saw a 61% raise. With inflation continuing to rise, average income Canadians won’t see a rise anytime soon, however, CEO’s will continue to.

Weikle shuts down the questions if these “sky-high” salaries are required to keep these CEO’s, stating that there “doesn’t seem to be much poaching happening in C-suites”. In fact, senior economist David Macdonald from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives states that CEO’s have spent an average of 18 years at their current company. He continues to state that they have earned these positions by truly understanding their companies to be successful in the CEO position. Macdonald states that it is even difficult for shareholders in these multimillion dollar companies to restrict CEO pay, “oftentimes there’s quite a tight relationship between the CEO, the board of directors for the company, the consultant that comes in to recommend what the CEO should make. These folks all know each other” (2020). Essentially, the CEO’s friend is the one signing their pay-check.

Government intervention is required to level the wage differences. Top CEO’s are making a year’s salary in less than a week when there are Canadians working tirelessly who can barely afford to support themselves. By implementing a rise in minimum wage and salary caps on CEO salaries, the government and companies should be redistributing their money back to their employees. In a 2018 article by the National Bank of Canada, they stated that the average household expenses in Canada in 2016 totaled $88,953. This allocated “CAN$20,434 was for housing, CAN$15,627 for taxes, CAN$12,347 for transportation, CAN$8,747 for food and CAN$2,258 for education”. This is more than the average salary that a Canadian will make in a year. Unfortunately, the average Canadian can barely afford the cost of living in Canada. There are few jobs in the middle ground that make a comfortable salary. There are really high paying jobs, like CEO, and very low paying jobs. Unfortunately, with the continuing rise of inflation, this problem doesn’t look like it will be going away any time soon.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-top-100-ceo-salary-1.5413124

Introduction EMPR 240

Hello! My name is Jacqueline and I am a second year Concurrent Education student at Queen’s University in Kingston. I am majoring in geography and I love teaching! I love being outside and sharing my passions about the beautiful outdoors with students! One of my most memorable jobs was when I was a hockey coach for a girls novice roster select team. Being able to coach young players into better athletes while building relationships with them and their families is an experience I will never forget. I am most excited to learn about how we can combat inequality and unfairness in the work place. With the recent movement for #equalplayequalpay, I believe wage regulation is important and inspiring. The driving factor of the hashtag “equal play, equal pay” was started when the United States Women’s National Soccer Team won the World Cup for the second time in a row, yet they still got paid drastically less than the men’s national team which was extremely less successful than the women’s team. I look forward to meeting and working with everyone! Have a great semester!