Province should expand eligibility for pandemic pay

May 7, 2020

QUEEN’S PARK — Guelph MPP and Leader of the Green Party of Ontario, Mike Schreiner, released the following statement:

“It is not fair to recognize some frontline health workers for their heroic contributions during COVID-19 and not others.

Workers standing shoulder-to-shoulder in our hospitals to battle this virus should all have access to pandemic pay because they are all dealing with increased workloads and pressure.

These omissions might have been an oversight, but they are hurtful to excluded frontline workers who are ensuring our healthcare system functions during this unprecedented time.

The province should expand eligibility to include primary care nurses and doctors seeing high risk patients and staffing testing centres; to health care workers in private settings such as PSWs and RPNs; to medical laboratory workers and medical radiation technologists in hospitals; to registered midwives; and to others providing essential healthcare during this crisis.”

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