SEIU-West says it welcomes the new COVID-19 measures announced by the provincial government, but is concerned that they don’t do enough to relieve additional burdens that health sector workers have faced, and will increasingly face, during what the union calls the second wave of the pandemic.

President Barb Cape says, they welcome the province-wide mask order and hope that it signals that the government is listening to the voices of health care providers. Cape says, “The virus doesn’t check what a town’s population is before dropping by.” She says though that, “Not having similar restrictions on restaurants, bars, athletic/recreation activities, and church services allows for another vector for infection and spread of this dangerous virus.”

She is also calling on the government to offer a temporary wage subsidy to all heath care workers. She says their members are exhausted. The union represents over 13 thousand people in the province.