Groups representing Canadian businesses and workers do not agree on the preferred isolation periods for people who test positive for COVID-19.
The issue returned to the news after the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that Americans with COVID-19 should only self-isolate for five days instead of ten. ‘they are asymptomatic.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business President Dan Kelly said it would be good news if the provinces followed a similar policy to that of the United States, as labor shortage is a significant problem. for small and medium businesses. He said the more safely provinces can limit the time people spend out of the workforce, the better.
Unifor National President Jerry Dias said in a statement, however, that now is not the time to “let our guard down”. According to him, shortening isolation times is the equivalent of playing with fire, a gamble on the lives of workers. He adds that public health guidelines should not be used to solve a deep-rooted crisis in the labor market.
Same debate in the United States
In the United States, the initiative has been hailed by companies, in particular airlines and restaurateurs, who hope to replenish their teams, but is instead criticized by unions, who fear pressure on employees. For economists, the measure should only have a marginal impact on the country’s activity in general.
Above all, it marks the idea that the pandemic has become an element that companies must take into account on a day-to-day basis.
“If there is no risk, why not? I think that can help us insofar as it is difficult to find people ”, remarks Dimitri Fetokakis, owner in Houston of three restaurants employing approximately 120 people. Since the start of the pandemic, he has had to constantly adapt, including fluctuating recommendations from health authorities, he told AFP.
The Delta airline, which had publicly called for the change, welcomed the Biden government’s decision, which it said allows “more flexibility to organize the schedules of crews and employees during the busy period. Christmas and New Year “.
For the federation representing the traders, NRF, the measure is also “welcome”, in particular because it brings “more clarity”. She will be able to help restaurants that have been forced to close when their cooks and servers have had to isolate themselves.
The unions are more reluctant. When the government decided last week, already, to shorten the isolation periods for caregivers with COVID-19 and no longer impose quarantine on fully vaccinated caregivers exposed to the virus, the NNU nurses’ union predicted ” more transmissions, diseases and deaths ”. The union of stewards and flight attendants AFA fears for its part that companies put pressure on workers.
With Agence France-Presse