Calls for the return of hazard pay are growing as workers on the front lines of Canada’s retail industry grow increasingly anxious amid rising COVID-19 cases.
While some companies offered so-called hero pay to essential workers at the outset of the pandemic, most wage premiums ended as the first wave ebbed.
Yet retail workers say morale is lagging as COVID-19 cases spike across much of the country.
Without a pay bump that recognizes the risk of working during a pandemic, they say workers are increasingly calling in sick — leaving fewer staff to enforce rules around mask-wearing and physical distancing.
Some companies have preemptively addressed the issue.
Lowe’s Canada said this week it plans to pay a discretionary bonus to all eligible Lowe’s, Rona and Reno-Depot workers.
The Boucherville, Que.-based home improvement retailer said full-time staff will receive $300 later this month, with $150 for part-time staff. The October bonus is in addition to bonuses paid in March and August, and $2 per hour wage premium paid from April to July.
The Home Depot Canada said it has implemented paid sick leave benefits and is providing workers with an ongoing weekly bonus — $100 for full-time workers and $50 for part-time workers.
Meanwhile, Chapman’s Ice Cream in Markdale, Ont., recently made its $2 an hour pandemic pay raise permanent.
It’s something unions across the country are calling for, arguing that the pay bump not only recognizes the ongoing threat of COVID-19 but also pays workers a living wage.
Yet retailers have argued that they are now operating safely in a “new normal.”
In a June statement, Loblaw Companies Ltd. chairman Galen Weston called it “the right time to end the temporary pay premium we introduced at the beginning of the pandemic.”
“Things have now stabilized in our supermarkets and drugstores,” he said. “After extending the premium multiple times, we are confident our colleagues are operating safely and effectively in a new normal.”
Many workers and unions disagree.
It’s a debate currently playing out in Newfoundland and Labrador, where 11 Loblaw’s stores under the Dominion banner are shuttered amid an escalating labour dispute.
It’s one of the first collective agreements to be negotiated in Canada since the start of the pandemic, and experts say it could serve as a forerunner for what to expect as other locals go to the bargaining table in the coming months.
Jennifer Green, a front-end cash supervisor at a Dominion in Conception Bay South, said 1,400 grocery store workers have been on strike for more than six weeks in an effort to obtain better wages.
She said without the COVID pay premium, she lives “paycheque to paycheque.”
“A lot of us were really struggling,” Green said. “But when we got the $2 an hour raise, we felt important.”
She said when the pay premium was cancelled, workers felt “sad and upset” and that going into work remained “nerve wracking.”
“It’s been stressful and at times scary,” Green said. “And it’s been really, really busy with online orders and extra cleaning.”
Loblaw did not respond to a request for comment.
‘It felt like a thank you’
Chris MacDonald, a spokesman with Unifor, the union representing Dominion workers, said the COVID pay premium made workers feel respected.
“It felt like a thank you from a retail employer that was more than just an `attaboy’ or a pat on the back,” he said.
“But now with the second wave, workers are scared and worried they’re not going to get the same level of respect.”
Some retail workers have had to deal with aggressive customers, with videos surfacing on social media of shoppers challenging rules around masks and physical distancing.
UFCW Canada spokesman Tim Deelstra said some of the union’s members have been in “disgusting situations.”
“There have been screaming matches,” he said. “Some of our members have been spit on or attacked by members of the public.”
The union is calling for a pay bump to recognize the ongoing efforts and risks taken by front-line workers.
Amanda Nagy, assistant bakery manager at a Fortinos Supermarket in Hamilton — also a Loblaw franchise — said she’s worked throughout the pandemic but is now growing increasingly nervous.
“It’s really overwhelming when we see the number of cases rising every day,” she said. “Then we have anti-maskers come in or people who claim they have a pre-existing condition and don’t wear masks — it’s just a scary environment to be in.”
Nagy said at the outset of the first wave, many people were calling in sick. She said that changed when the pay premium was introduced.
“It’s just good for the morale to feel appreciated,” she said. “Otherwise we’re basically risking out lives at a job where we can barely make ends meet.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
