Employees in Toronto are being told to work in the face of COVID-19 and they’re angry and scared

Thestar.com
March 19, 2020
Evelyn Kwong

As Ontario declares a state of emergency over COVID-19, urging restaurants, bars, libraries and more to shutter their doors, workers who are being asked to continue to show up for work are feeling helpless, scared and angry.

Despite the advisory reiterated by three levels of government to stay home, many employees have been told it’s “business as usual” and some who resist or complain could face unpaid leave or sanctions.

Several such employees have identified themselves to the Star, which has decided to grant them anonymity because they could face problems at work for speaking out.

About 50 employees in the City of Toronto’s social development, finance and administration department have been told to show up for work at their office. The directive comes even after Mayor John Tory announced Tuesday that Toronto’s civic centres, including City Hall and Metro Hall, would be closed to the public as of Wednesday as the city moves to scale back non-essential services until April 5.

“We were just told to report into office despite warnings to socially distance ourselves,” said a city employee who wants to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. The employee said they do not consider themselves “essential” during the pandemic, adding they believe that only those on the front-lines in health care, grocery stores or hospitals are truly “essential.”

But a supervisor’s email describes their work as essential. A screenshot sent to the Star of the email sent to staff Tuesday reads: “SDFA colleagues who work in these essential services will need to continue to report to work and will be protected by safe workplaces and procedures, personal protective equipment where required, and backups to help us remain healthy.”

The employee, who says they felt at one point that they may have been experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, told the Star that a supervisor said a doctor’s note would be required for a sick day.

“I have bills to pay so I can’t afford to take the unpaid leave. So I’m going to be forced to go back to work in a few days.” This week, Ontario announced it would be suspending the doctor’s note policy.

“We are an office of 40 to 50 people, the statistics do not lie. This is how the virus spreads,” the employee said, adding that the cubicles in the office are within one to two metres of each other.

Alex Burke, a city media spokesperson, told the Star that directives to both leadership and staff have followed the advice of the city’s medical officer of health to practice social distancing.

“Depending on the function and whether the service provided by the area has been deemed essential and/or critical, many functions are required to report to city work locations,” Burke added.

Other city staff will be telecommuting. When asked about vacation requests, Burke said that all are “subject to operational needs.”

Retail staff are also feeling anxious about their place of work remaining open. Workers at EB Games were expecting large crowds for the launch of the new Animal Crossing game at midnight Friday, which has now been cancelled.

“I am interacting with the public and touching money for all video games and this is not an essential service,” an employee told the Star.

On Tuesday, EB Games released a statement on its Facebook page saying it was “happy” to announce its decision to remain open for the midnight event. “If you do not feel comfortable or cannot make it to your local store, please feel free to pre-order (online),” the message said.

On Wednesday, the company told the Star the company-wide event had been cancelled, with all EB Games locations opening between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. instead so customers can pick up their copy of the game.

It’s also business as usual at Long & McQuade, an independent music store with more than 80 locations across Canada.

An email sent to staff Monday by Long and McQuade’s management team said that staff who feel they are “high risk” and “wished to stay home” must use sick days or vacation time. “Short-term disability will not be used for this,” the email says.

“We have very few jobs that can be done from home,” the email continues. “Due to the changing situation many people may be required to perform alternate jobs, and for that reason we would like all staff to be present at work.”

“This is putting both staff and customers at further risk,” one employee told the Star.

On Long & McQuade’s Instagram page, followers are urging the company to close its doors. “Stop putting your greed above our workers’ health. You’re putting everybody at risk,” reads one comment.

Steve Long, owner and founder of Long & McQuade, told the Star on Tuesday that running a small, independent business makes the whole situation more difficult. “At some point we’d run out of money,” he said.

“I have 2,000 employees and 1,500 teachers that depend on us for a livelihood. As much as I’d love to close down and pay everyone, it’s just not realistic.”

Long also told the Star that the company made it clear that if employees don’t feel comfortable, they could be laid off and go on EI.

“I’m looking for guidance, and we’re following the guidance from the government,” Long said. “I’m open to solutions, but it has to be realistic. I can’t just go and fire up a printing press to print money in the basement.

“This is the best decision I can make in a difficult time.”

The same goes for front-desk staff and several others on the marketing and design teams at Royal LePage’s Toronto offices, one of Canada’s largest real-estate companies. An employee wrote to the Star with concerns about the number of people they interact with daily in the office. “I feel with the amount of people that the brokerage encounters on the daily, there’s a pretty high chance of being exposed to COVID-19 in some way,” the employee said.

In response, Royal LePage told the Star on Tuesday that it is committed to the health and safety of its employees and network of brokerages, as well as its customers and community.

The company said it has closed its doors to visitors and realtors and instructed that business be conducted virtually or off-site where possible. However, staff that are “critical to support business continuity” would continue to be expected to work on-site and “practice social distancing as there are very few people in the office,” a spokesperson told the Star.

The employee, who is among those expected to continue working from the office, says he does not believe he is as “essential’ as others who have begun working from home, and believes the need to commute on public transit to get to the office continues to expose these staffers to risk of contracting the coronavirus.

“Everyday I see more and more stores saying they’re shutting down ... they’re shutting down for a reason. At first it’s like, it’s all right, I can manage, but eventually it hits that this isn’t a joking matter.”