Global News | By Elizabeth McSheffrey & Grace Ke | December 7, 2022
Less than a year after eligible workers in B.C. became entitled to five days of employer-paid sick leave per year, the B.C. Federation of Labour is urging the provincial government to triple the standard.
The call for 15 days comes after the organization representing more than 50 unions held a recent convention in Vancouver with more than 1,000 delegates in attendance.
“The reality is we know five days isn’t enough,” Susanne Skidmore, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, told Global News.
“As we’re seeing with the uptick in health issues right now, five days — that’s just one sickness and that’s just once in a year.”
The provincial government’s policy of five employer-paid sick days per year took effect on Jan. 1. It applies to all workers covered by the Employment Standards Act, including part-time employees, as long as the worker has been with their employer for at least 90 days.
The B.C. Federation of Labour initially advocated for 10 sick days, but Skidmore said members have come to the conclusion that 15 is more “realistic.”
“The five days was good, we celebrated that,” she said. “But now the federal government has rolled out, they’ve got their 10 days for federally-regulated employees. We don’t even have that in B.C. so we need to keep pushing for more.”