‘They don’t feel like heroes anymore’: Union President on grocery employees

Grocery store employees have been in a vulnerable position since March and many are starting to feel forgotten.

The provincial government continues to put plans in place to get people vaccinated sooner, but a majority of front-line workers are still left waiting to see when they will get their opportunity.

United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) president Norm Neault believes there has been a lack of transparency between the government and the grocery industry regarding vaccines and the safety of grocery store employees.

“There are all sorts of recommendations of what people should do, but there’s little legislation,” Neault said. “We’d like these workers recognized, a lot of these workers do not have any sick days and if they contract the virus, or if they have to self isolate, in a lot of cases there is very little for them to do.

“We have also had a lot of our members harassed by customers, how many more people have to get sick, or how many more people have to lose a life before anything is done.”

Neault says he had sent a letter to the premier over two weeks ago detailing concerns that the union has had for their members.

Some of the suggestions that were included in the letter were mask policies being more strictly monitored in stores, mandatory wage increases for frontline workers and implementing 14 days paid sick days for self-isolation.

Neault’s letter finished by saying there needs to be more concise mandatory regulations for retail, service and food manufacturing essential services in the province, as these workers continue to be at a high-risk.

His letter has yet to see any form of a response.

“Not everyone wants to get a vaccine, but those that do want to get the vaccine should be afforded that right in some priority,” he said. “If they want to stop this virus, then they certainly have to be able to stop the transmission and these workers are at high risk for transmission.”

Compared to the start of the pandemic, Neault says that a lot of frontline grocery store workers have started to feel forgotten.

“They don’t feel like heroes anymore, I can tell you that,” he said. “It’s unfortunate because they are heroes too. They have been on the frontline, they have had a lot of risks just like a lot of other people in different fields.”

The provincial government has been planning to deliver mass immunizations in greater quantities, as further details of the clinic locations and hours of operation will be made public when the province moves into Phase 2 of the immunizations delivery plan.