What do you think about paid sick days?

The pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to stay home from work when you are sick to reduce the spread of illness and keep people healthy. But many people, especially those in lower-paying jobs without benefits, don’t have that choice and they can’t afford to lose wages by missing work.
 
Our government introduced three days of paid sick leave during the pandemic, to bridge the gap for people accessing the federal sickness benefit. At the same time, we committed to putting in place a permanent paid sick leave program, so that everyone can access paid sick days and stay home when they need to. This permanent program will come into effect in January 2022, but we want you to tell us what it should look like.
 
We want to make sure this program reflects the needs and experiences of people in B.C., so we’re inviting both workers and employers to participate in a short survey to help us shape the program. Go to engage.gov.bc.ca/paidsickleave/ to participate – the survey will be open until September 14. Whether you currently have paid sick days at your workplace or not, we want to hear from you. The survey should only take a few minutes and doesn’t ask for any personal information. All the responses will be kept confidential.
 
As our economy continues to recover from the pandemic, we also want to make sure that people whose employment was impacted are recovering as well. That’s why we’ve announced an investment of $95 million in skills training programs to support over 9,000 people across the province.
 
We’re helping people to re-skill or up-skill so they can find the right job for them and support themselves and their families while also boosting our local economies. If you or someone you know is unemployed or under-employed and looking to learn new skills, visit this link to see programs that are available.

Thank you,