The absence of paid sick leave, the use of agencies, the strong presence of allophone immigrant workers and the payment of “attendance bonuses” would have contributed to the spread of the virus in several workplaces in Montreal, in particular that of food processing. and drinks.
These are at least the conclusions and the hypotheses put forward in a report by Montreal Public Health taking stock of the outbreaks in the workplace that occurred between the first and the third wave.
This portrait reveals that workers working in the food supply chain, particularly the food and beverage manufacturing sector, were the most at risk of being infected, 6 times more than those in other sectors of the economy. studied in this report.
All things considered, it is this sector that suffered the most outbreaks of COVID-19 in the metropolis between February 2020 and July 2021.
Among these workers at risk, there are also employees of slaughterhouses – where one in three establishments has been affected and 15% of workers infected – and meat packaging, and those of bakeries and pastries, wholesalers and retailers. in food and drink.
“There are several reasons for this, in particular because there have been more face-to-face workers in these sectors, which have remained open the longest during the pandemic. But the high turnover rate, the proximity on the assembly lines and the sharing of equipment were also factors”, explains the DD Alexandra Kossowski, medical consultant in occupational health at the Montreal Regional Public Health Department.
Studies conducted elsewhere in the world have shown that the use of agency workers, high staff turnover, and even the payment of attendance bonuses have played a role in the risk of outbreaks in these types of workplaces.
“It is also our hypothesis, affirms the DD Kossowski. We know that the most affected sectors in Montreal also call on agencies for staff. But we are not able to establish it directly, because the data of the cases of infection [liés aux travailleurs d’agence] escaped the workplaces and our follow-up. »
Even if public health recommended paying workers during their period of isolation, several employees were deprived of this right or only had the two days provided for by labor standards. “People were sick and went to work anyway,” adds Jean Nicolas Aubé, senior media relations advisor for the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal.
The high proportion of workers with an immigrant background, and recent immigrants, in the food sector (69%), manufacturing and processing (57%) would also have posed challenges in understanding the language favorable to the risk of outbreaks, the report says. “What seems important is to reach allophone workers in their languages,” says the DD Kossowski. A finding that allowed Public Health to adjust the situation during the third wave by communicating directly with allophone workers at risk, particularly during the vaccination campaign.
Mandatory face-to-face
No less than 3,150 outbreaks and 9,035 cases of infection were recorded during the first three waves in the Montreal workplaces studied, 70% of which during the second wave alone. The risk of infection peaked for these workers in the second wave (fall 2020 to March 2021), with 20 out of 1,000 workers infected, five times higher than in the first wave.
The durable goods supply chain has also been hit hard by outbreaks, including metal fabrication plants, transportation equipment, electrical products, hardware wholesalers and department stores.
During this first phase of the pandemic, 38% to 54% of Montreal workers were working from home, but 300,000 of them (1st wave), 421,000 (2nd wave) and 432,000 (3rd wave) had to work remotely. face-to-face. Sometimes to the detriment of their health, the report finds.
“We also highlight the silent contribution of these essential workers who had to show up for work despite the risks, especially those who were fatal victims of COVID-19. Public Health, however, does not know how many of these essential workers have been hospitalized or died after being infected.