{"id":25917,"date":"2022-01-14T15:36:44","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T20:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1.6315464"},"modified":"2022-01-14T15:36:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T20:36:44","slug":"return-of-hero-pay-long-overdue-frazzled-grocery-workers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/business\/hero-pay-retail-grocery-1.6315464?cmp=rss","title":{"rendered":"Return of hero pay long overdue, frazzled grocery workers say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Retail workers say the refusal by Canada’s grocers to reinstate “hero pay” has left them feeling forgotten and unappreciated as the Omicron wave leaves many stores short-staffed and shoppers stocking up.<\/p>\n

Multiple grocery store workers say they are busier than ever with more staff calling in sick in the last two weeks than during the entire pandemic.<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n

They say customers are also once again “clearing the shelves” and stocking up on food, which increases the workload in stores.<\/p>\n

Tammy Laporte, a full-time grocery store worker, says the last two years have been the hardest of her 23-year career.<\/p>\n

She says it’s a “never-ending struggle” to keep the store running smoothly while adhering to increased cleaning requirements and enforcing public health measures.<\/p>\n

Laporte says the decision by grocery chains not to bring back the $2-an-hour pay bump is “insulting.”<\/p>\n

<\/g><\/g> <\/g><\/g><\/svg>They took the bonus away but COVID never went way<\/g><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/span>– Grocery store worker Karen Lobb<\/cite><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“It made us feel appreciated,” she said of the pay premium Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys offered workers during the first wave of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

“It made us feel like the employer cared, and like they understood the risks we were facing.”<\/p>\n

Despite working with a major grocer for more than two decades as a full-time employee, Laporte says the pandemic bonus brought her pay “to the edge of a living wage” for the first time.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Why grocery store workers deserve better N95 masks:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

The push for better masks for retail workers<\/h3>\n
5 days ago<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
Duration <\/span>2:01<\/span><\/svg><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There is a growing push to make better masks, such as the N95 style, available for front-line retail workers. And though some companies have made them available, others say they\u2019re following existing public health guidelines by offering three-ply masks to keep employees safe. 2:01<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

“The $2-an-hour increase may not seem like a lot but at the end of the day, it made a big difference.”<\/p>\n

Last week, Unifor national president Jerry Dias and NDP MP Brian Masse also called for a reinstatement of extra pay<\/a> for retail workers during the increased risk of of the Omicron wave.<\/p>\n

No plan to pay more yet<\/h2>\n

Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n

While the grocers did offer a mix of bonuses, gift cards or other benefits during subsequent waves of the pandemic, none appear to be offering any additional pay as a result of the Omicron surge.<\/p>\n

However, Sobeys has committed to reinstating its “hero pay” when regions or provinces go back into lockdowns that close all non-essential retail.<\/p>\n

Karen Lobb, who has worked at a grocery store for 27 years, said workers would appreciate an acknowledgment of the risks they face going into work every day.<\/p>\n

“They took the bonus away but COVID never went way,” she said. “We’ve never closed, we haven’t stopped.”<\/p>\n

Lobb added: “We’re short-staffed and some of us are working longer hours to make up for it. Some recognition would be nice.”<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retail workers say the refusal by Canada’s grocers to reinstate “hero pay” has left them feeling forgotten and unappreciated as the Omicron wave leaves many stores short-staffed and shoppers stocking up. Multiple grocery store...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[331],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewwbradley.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}