The Decent Work and Health Network has released a new report, Prescription for a Health Recovery: Decent Work for All. It examines what the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified about systemic inequalities and work and what is needed to ensure a healthy recovery for all.

The report notes that precarious work undermined pandemic preparedness, as we failed to implement the lessons of the H1N1 pandemic and that governments needed to be more responsive to workers’ needs early on in the COVID-19 pandemic.  This resulted in disproportionately higher COVID infection rates, ICU admissions, and job precarity for racialized workers and communities. The report lays out stark evidence and features the voices of health care workers across Ontario.

To ensure a healthy recovery for all, health workers recommend:

1. Healthy wages and hours for all: a $20 per hour minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and promoting  full-time and permanent jobs
2. Effective paid sick days for all: 10 permanent, employer-paid sick days for all workers, plus an additional 14 paid sick days during pandemics
3. Protections for all workers to advocate for healthy workplaces: full immigration status for all, just cause protection, an end to worker misclassification,  and improving access to unions

To read and endorse the report, visit the Decent Work and Health Network’s website here.