Paid Sick Leave & EI


A 2010 World Health Organization report called The Case for Paid Sick Leave shows 102 countries with a maximum length of paid sick leave at one month or more. In Ontario we have just 3 days. Employers can grant more unpaid days but are legally required to pay for only 3 days. 3 Days! It is clear that Ontario is way behind the rest of the world in protecting workers’ and their families when they fall ill. And the pandemic has made this issue stand out even more. We have heard of people waiting for 5 days just to get tested for Covid19.


Peggy Sattler, NDP MPP for London West has introduced a bill that would raise the number of paid days to 7 and in the case of declared emergencies or infectious disease emergencies, 14 days of paid leave. Many Ontario families’ finances are so close to the bone that they cannot afford unpaid sick days and we know the Ontario Government can reimburse businesses who need help with this kind of obligation. Write or call you MPP now and ask them to support this bill.


ALTHOUGH ALMOST ALL WORKERS PAY into Employment Insurance (EI), less than 40 percent qualify for benefits when they need them, and only a third of unemployed women can access EI. This is a trend that’s only set to worsen with the growth of precarious and part-time work. To help make ends meet while on EI, the NDP will increase the income replacement rate to 60 percent – and create a low income supplement so that no one receiving EI regular or special benefits receives less than $1,200 a month.

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