Temperature Rising: The fight over paid sick leave in the civil service
A few weeks ago, a Via Rail employee hobbled into work, obviously not feeling well. "Why don't you go home?" someone asked him. "No sick leave", he said quietly. He would have to go three days without pay, then apply to the company insurance plan and hope that his claim was accepted.So he goes to work sick. As do a...
A few weeks ago, a Via Rail employee hobbled into work, obviously not feeling well. "Why don't you go home?" someone asked him. "No sick leave", he said quietly. He would have to go three days without pay, then apply to the company insurance plan and hope that his claim was accepted.So he goes to work sick. As do a great many Canadians, despite our public health campaigns - get your flu shot, stay home if you don't feel well.
Many working Canadians don't have any sick leave, paid or unpaid. There are six provinces and territories in Canada where you can be fired if you are too sick to work. Now, sick leave is turning out to be the decisive issue in negotiations between Stephen Harper's Conservative government and federal civil servants.
Many working Canadians don't have any sick leave, paid or unpaid. There are six provinces and territories in Canada where you can be fired if you are too sick to work. Now, sick leave is turning out to be the decisive issue in negotiations between Stephen Harper's Conservative government and federal civil servants.
The men and women who work in the Passport Office; who administer EI claims; food safety inspectors, have negotiated a good benefits package over the past 40 years. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, wants to cut those benefits. He is trading on the image of the indolent civil servant whose overly generous sick leave, he argues, costs every tax-payer too many hard-earned dollars. It has all the makings of a wedge issue in the upcoming federal election. Karin Wells' documentary is called Temperature Rising.