No serenade, but wage hike is warranted By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 13, 2020

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/05/2020 (1592 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Health-care workers in Winnipeg hospitals are, quite deservedly, getting a lot of love. Signs around town adorned with hand-drawn hearts offer such sentiments as “Healthcare Workers Are Heroes.” A McPhillips Street garage offered free oil changes. A horn orchestra played for them outside Victoria Hospital on a recent Saturday evening.

But for other essential workers, such as grocery-store clerks and nursing-home staff, there are no orchestras to serenade them as they finish another shift that risked their health.

Many workers who have kept our community functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic are paid little more than Manitoba’s minimum wage of $11.65 an hour. The pandemic has highlighted the important role of such workers as store cashiers, warehouse clerks, meat packers, custodians, delivery drivers and home-care aides, but they are traditionally accorded neither the compensation nor the respect that reflects the essential nature of their services.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged as much last Thursday when he said low-wage workers who are risking their health deserve more. He announced the federal government and provinces will spend up to $4 billion to top up the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The raises are certainly warranted, but there’s a catch: the federal government will only cover three-quarters of the cost; provinces have to add the remaining 25 per cent, and it’s left up to each province to decide which workers are essential and deserve higher pay.

Some provinces immediately accepted the offer. Prince Edward Island, for example, declared it would hike the wages of workers in places such as care centres, grocery stores, restaurants and convenience stores. PEI workers currently earning less than $3,000 a month will get a subsidy of $1,000.

With this latest federal offer to help low-paid essential workers, the Pallister government should display unaccustomed haste and jump on the federal offer. Getting three federal dollars for every Manitoba dollar is a good deal in anyone’s books.

In Manitoba, the Pallister government hasn’t yet announced which low-wage occupations, if any, will get the salary top-ups and, given the parsimonious predilections of this province in response to other recent requests to help Manitoba workers hit hard by the pandemic, workers should temper any optimism sparked by Mr. Trudeau’s announcement.

Manitoba has been slow to act when it comes to filling in gaps in federal programs. When it came to helping businesses, Manitoba waited for Ottawa to introduce a commercial rent program, and then made a minor contribution. Faced with appeals for financial help for Manitoba workers, this province has largely restricted its role to directing people to available federal programs.

With this latest federal offer to help low-paid essential workers, the Pallister government should display unaccustomed haste and jump on the federal offer. Getting three federal dollars for every Manitoba dollar is a good deal in anyone’s books.

Many of the workers who will be helped by the wage boost are recent immigrants, temporary foreign workers and people with limited education. As members of marginalized communities — many of whom know the poverty line from first-hand experience — they’re unaccustomed to accolades for their efforts, but the COVID-19 crisis has shown their importance.

While many of us wait out the pandemic by sheltering in our homes, they’re sticking to their posts in Manitoba nursing homes, or hoisting sides of beef in packing plants, or stocking shelves in Manitoba grocery stores. They’re staying on the job even though it might endanger their health. Their contributions are vital and should be appreciated.

It’s apt and overdue that low-wage essential workers get a government-assisted pay raise. They also warrant a raise in respect.