Save-On-Foods workers continue call for return of hazard pay

How long will pandemic pay stay for workers? As health restrictions ease, some businesses are continuing to pay extra wages for frontline workers, while others are scrapping the bonus.

Victoria — Late last month, Save-On-Foods announced it was ending its pandemic premium pay for grocery store workers at all of its locations starting May 30.

Employees were told that instead of receiving an extra $2.00/hr for pandemic pay, they would instead be able to choose either a 10 per cent discount on groceries or 30 times the loyalty points on purchases.

The move left many staff members feeling disappointed and insulted.

UFCW 1518, the union that represents Save-On-Foods employees, was shocked by the announcement and began a letter writing campaign on behalf of its members, urging the public to put pressure on the company to keep the pandemic premium pay.

Since then, the union says there has been a huge outpouring of support for the grocery store employees. As of Thursday, more than 5,000 people had sent letters to Save-On-Foods CEO Darrell Jones and the Pattison Group calling for a reinstatement of the pay.

The union says the company is sticking to its decision to end the bonus pay despite the pressure from both employees and the public to have a change of heart.

“So far they say they are not interested in reinstating the pandemic pay,” said Kim Novak, president of UFCW 1518.

“We’ve continued to urge that while we recognise that it was temporary, it’s too soon,” she said. “We are still in the early days of phase two (of B.C.’s restart plan) and we do have a state of emergency in place.”

The union polled Save-On-Foods employees and found that the average worker spent $50 - $80 per week on groceries. Under the new discount program, they would save $5 - 8 per week, a lot less than the up to $80 per week that was being offered through the pandemic premium pay.

“They (grocery workers) stepped up,” said Novak. “They were on those front lines from day one of this crisis."

“The stores were busier than they could have ever anticipated during these past few months,” she added. “They are still quite busy and they still have added procedures and safety in the workplace. So when you see all the things that have come in from the beginning of COVID stay the same, except your pay, (you can feel) very, very frustrated.”

CTV News called and emailed Save-On-Foods’ parent company, Overwaitea Food Group, for a response to the unions call for reinstatement of the extra $2.00 per hour but has not yet received a response.

Last week, however, Save-On Foods did issue a statement when contacted.

“Our team members understand that this bonus pay was temporary and designed to be paid during the height of the pandemic and the value of this new team member discount program far exceeds the value of the short-term hourly bonus,” said the company.

UFCW 1518 says they did receive a reply from Save-On-Foods CEO Darrell Jones to a letter they sent asking him to bring back the pandemic premium.

According to the union, Jones refused to reinstate the pay and justified his decision by stating that, “the spread of COVID-19 has fortunately been minimized in our communities.”

Despite the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in B.C., the union says grocery workers are still expected to perform enhanced sanitation procedures, enforce physical distancing in stores and frequently restock essential items. They also believe grocery store workers are at an increased risk of exposure to the virus because they interact with high numbers of people every day.

Other grocery store chains, such as Red Barn Market, Quality Foods and Country Grocer are continuing with their “pandemic pay” incentives for employees for the foreseeable future.

Safeway, which is represented by UFCW 1518, is extending its pandemic pay until at least mid-June, says Novak.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is not over and unfortunately it won’t be over for quite some time,” she said. "It’s too soon to end the pandemic premium.”

The union is encouraging the public to continue sending letters to Save-On-Foods CEO Darrell Jones and company owner Jim Pattison to ask that they reinstate the pandemic pay for their workers.

“They were considered to be the unsung heroes a couple of weeks ago,” said Novak, “Now, suddenly, that recognition is starting to fade and we are still very much in the COVID-19 pandemic.”