TORONTO – New polling data demonstrates overwhelming support for 10 permanent, employer-paid sick days. Eighty per cent of Ontarians surveyed “support the Ontario Federation of Labour’s call for at least 10 days of permanent paid sick leave paid for by employers in Ontario,” and 85 per cent agree that “businesses have a responsibility to provide paid sick days to their employees to ensure workers are not faced with the choice of working sick or losing pay.”
“It is far past time for Ford’s Conservative government to finally do the right thing and introduce permanent, adequate, employer-paid sick leave, and Ontarians overwhelmingly agree,” said Patty Coates, Ontario Federation of Labour President. “The Worker Income Protection Benefit is temporary and inadequate. While Ontarians face the rise of a new COVID-19 variant and flu season, we urgently need this common-sense health measure to keep ourselves and our communities safe.”
The poll was conducted by Environics Research from November 17 to 29, 2021 via a non-probability online panel and commissioned by the Ontario Federation of Labour. The research represented the population of eligible voters in Ontario with a sample size of 1,210 respondents weighted to reflect the 2016 census by age, gender, and region.
In addition to overwhelming support for employer-paid sick leave, respondents demonstrated strong support for permanent paid sick leave that is also adequate and covers a wide range of workers. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents “agree that the number of paid sick days provided should be 10 days or more.” The same percentage of respondents said that “Ontario’s sick leave program should cover part-time and casual workers.”
Read a summary of the poll results here.
Despite the clear public support for permanent, adequate, employer-paid sick leave, Ford’s Conservative government has voted against paid sick days 27 times. On November 24, Ford’s Conservatives blocked Bill 8, the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act, 2021, introduced by NDP MPPs Jill Andrew, Peggy Sattler, Doly Begum, and Sara Singh. The Bill would have legislated 10 permanent paid sick days, plus 14 additional days during public health outbreaks.
“Doug Ford is completely out of touch with Ontario workers, and this poll proves it,” said Coates, “Ontarians deserve better than a government that continues to put the public’s health at risk. If Ford won’t vote for 10 days of permanent, employer-paid sick leave, then we’ll vote for it ourselves in the next election.”
The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information, please contact:
Melissa Palermo
Director of Communications
Ontario Federation of Labour
mpalermo@ofl.ca l 416-894-3456
