SPECIAL REPORT — Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Metro and Walmart are discontinuing the $2 wage premium put in place to support workers at the onset of the pandemic. “As the economy slowly reopens and Canadians begin to return to work, we believe it is the right time to end the temporary pay premium we introduced at the beginning of the pandemic,” Loblaw Chairman Galen Weston Jr. wrote to PC Optimum cardholders last week. Loblaw and Metro will however pay out one-time bonuses next month. Metro will add $200 for full-time and $100 for part-time workers on their July 2 paycheques. Loblaw employees will receive a $160 bonus pro-rated to a 40-hour work week.
Unions representing retail workers expressed their disappointment with the decisions. “The fact is, the pandemic did not make these workers essential and did not create the inequities in retail: it simply exposed them,” said Unifor President Jerry Dias. In a statement, the United Food and Commercial Workers recognized the temporary nature of the wage hike while opining that “premium pay should be maintained throughout the pandemic.”
