April 14, 2020

Watch news conference

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The Manitoba government will now compensate health-care workers who are required to self-isolate for 14 days due to possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, Premier Brian Pallister announced today.

“Our government recognizes front-line health-care providers are facing extraordinary challenges during this unprecedented time,” said Pallister. “This change will give workers peace of mind knowing they can take the necessary time to protect themselves, their patients, coworkers and the broader community.”

The Manitoba government will provide health-care staff paid administrative leave for the full 14-day period of asymptomatic self-isolation. Should a worker become symptomatic during self-isolation, the individual will be compensated by sick leave benefits, pursuant to their collective agreement, the premier added.

The province is also proposing new provisions to the Employment Standards Code that would allow employees to be away from work for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

After consulting the Labour Management Review Committee, which made a consensus recommendation to provide job protection for employees affected by COVID-19, the province is moving forward with changes that would allow employees protected leave for eligible purposes.

Employees would be able to take as much unpaid time off work as needed to:
•    be in isolation or quarantine or take any other control measure in accordance with information or directions related to COVID-19 by health professionals, health officers, Health Links–Info Santé, the government of Manitoba or the Government of Canada, a municipal council or a board of health;
•    obtain medical examination, supervision or treatment;
•    comply with an order made under The Emergency Measures Act or The Public Health Act;
•    provide care or support to a family member as a result of COVID-19, including but not limited to, school and daycare closures; or
•    comply with travel restrictions.

The new provisions would apply to any leave that started between March 1, 2020, and a date to be prescribed in regulation, specified once the pandemic is over.

“We want to reassure Manitobans they won’t lose their job for taking leave to comply with public health orders to self-isolate or to seek medical attention or care for a loved one because of COVID-19,” said Pallister. “We all have a role to play in flattening COVID curve and we are committed to helping Manitobans navigate this challenging and unprecedented time.”

The provisions also allow for other communicable diseases to be added by regulation to allow the new leave provisions to be re-instated in cases of future epidemics or pandemics.

The Manitoba government will also be meeting with Manitoba’s public sector union leaders to discuss an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The province is seeking ways to defer non-essential spending across all of government to ensure its ability to redirect resources to front-line health services during this critical time, the premier added.

“Manitobans have every right to expect that their government will do everything it can to address and support our pandemic response and our health-care workers in the front lines,” said Pallister. “We expect that our public service will want to do the right thing to support these efforts and to make sure resources are where they are, when they are needed most.”

In the coming days and weeks ahead, the province will be exploring and discussing various options to reduce non-essential spending, with the primary focus of mitigating the impact and fallout of COVID-19, the premier stated.

A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.

Information about provincial and federal supports available for Manitoba employees is listed at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/infomanitobans/workplaces.html.

For more information on COVID-19 in Manitoba, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.

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