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485Occupational
Health and Safety and COVID-19: Whose Rights Come First in a Pandemic?
Whose rights come first in a pandemic? Without media reports,
employers would have the last word, and the public would know noth-
ing of current conditions; those reports are in large part dependent on
information provided by unions, and it is unions that have taken legal
action to access enforcement measures. Professional associations have
also made clear statements requiring that their members have access to
protective equipment. And then there are the others, more precarious
workers whose stories may become public if they die.
In reaction to the ONA v. Eatonville court order [paragraph 96],
to “provide nurses […] with access to fitted N95 facial respirators and
other appropriate PPE when assessed by a nurse at point of care to
be appropriate and required,” Eric Tucker asked, “In what world is a
court order needed to require employers to provide front line health
care workers with the personal protective equipment that they, in
their professional judgment, relying on best practices and govern-
ment directives, determine is needed to perform their jobs safely?”53 I
ask here, in such a world, what rights are needed to protect workers
as we head into a period of deconfinement?
Public health authorities acknowledge the emerging scientific
consensus that people with certain characteristics (including age and
various chronic health problems54) are more likely to have serious
adverse consequences if they contract COVID-19. If workers refuse to
return to their employment because they or their family members are
disproportionately vulnerable, it is currently highly uncertain whether
they will be legally protected from job loss and economic deprivation.
Ensuring their right to refuse to go back, if to do so puts them at seri-
ous risk, is a priority.55 It is unlikely that employers will be in a posi-
53. Eric Tucker, ”Court Orders Should Not be Required For Health Care Workers to
Get PPEs”, The Star (30 April 2020), online: <https://www.thestar.com/opinion/
contributors/2020/04/30/court-orders-should-not-be-required-for-health-care-
workers-to-get-ppes.html>.
54. Institut national de santĂ© publique du QuĂ©bec, COVID-19:Â
RecommandationsÂ
inté-
rimaires pour la protection des travailleurs avec maladies chroniques (Québec: Institut
national de santé publique du Québec, 10 May 2020), online: INSPQ <https://
www.inspq.qc.ca/publications/2967-protection-travailleurs-maladies-chro-
niques-covid-19>; Institut national d’excellence de santé et en service sociaux,
COVID-19 et personnes immunosupprimées, Québec (Québec: Institut national
d’excellence de santé et en service sociaux, last visited 26 May 2020), online:
INESS <https://www.inesss.qc.ca/covid-19/presentations-cliniques/personnes-
immunosupprimees-mise-a-jour-completee-07-05-2020.html>.
55. Janet Cleveland et al, “Il faut protéger les plus vulnérables”, Le Devoir (6 May
2020), online: <https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/578337/il-faut-proteger-
les-plus-vulnerables>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International