Canada took the call of hiking the wages for essential health workers across the country stating that the one who is risking their lives for the health of the country and making a minimum wage deserve a raise.
“If you are risking your health to keep this country moving and you’re making minimum wage, you deserve a raise,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week, making good on a promise to increase salaries.
The Canadian government had allocated funds to health workers who are earning less than $1,800 per month. They have also signed an agreement with provinces and territories to spend over $3 million and raise wages for essential workers earning less than $1,800 per month.
“I think one of the things that we’re seeing through this pandemic is that there are people who are tremendously economically vulnerable, and vulnerable in other ways in our society, who are extremely important to the functioning of our society,” PM Trudeau said.
Services Employees International Union Healthcare, one of the largest health care unions of Canada comprising of nearly 60,000 workers welcomed the decision. However, they also alerted the staff to ensure that there is no intervention of the government in the process.
“Frontline essential workers now are exhausted, they’re terrified, they’ve got colleagues in every sector dying. It’s nice to hear but they are exhausted from that and they want to see those words turned into action now,” Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare said.
She also mentioned that inadequate personal protective equipment has been a problem along with any guarantee of earning a living wage.
In Canada, the number of positive diagnoses edged up to 63,895 from 62,458 while the death rate rose by just over 4% to 4,280 from 4,111 on Wednesday as per the reports.
Quebec, the province hardest hit by the coronavirus, has unveiled plans to gradually restart its economy but on Thursday pushed back for the second time the date when businesses can reopen in Montreal, Canada’s second-biggest city.
In India, the cases of COVID-19 have been increasing drastically daily. The essential health worker came out as a warrior to find against the pandemic. However, the are facing multiple challenges other than the pandemic be it the lack of personal protective equipment and ventilators, facing discrimination in their locality or life threats, and attacks by mainstream people.
The government came up with such effective solutions like banging the thalis, light the candles, and give them appreciation in tweets and hashtags.
Last week, the Indian armed forces participated in a coordinated and highly publicized Thanksgiving stunts to laud the “corona warriors”. The Indian Air Force got choppers to showering flower petals on hospitals and medical professionals across the country. Navy ships were lit up with messages of thanks and Army bands serenaded health workers.
While some right-wing people appreciated this the rest of the people criticized the government and asked them to take accountability of the health and needs of the healthcare staff and provide them with their basic requirements which are ppe, and more testing kits rather than performances and flowers. Some private hospitals also allegedly brought in pay cut off the doctors who are not involved in the treatment of the COVID-19 positive patients. Doctors are facing many challenges and reporting it from all across India and the government is coming up with expectations from the people rather than finding out the solution by themselves.
Sources: CNN Network, News 18.
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