Grocery chains end pandemic bonus
Two big grocery chains have ended the $2 hourly pay bump for people working through the pandemic. Metro, Loblaws and Walmart? You can do without them.
Does anyone else feel like things are rushing in two directions? The federal government has just begun to mandate temperature checks at airports and has extended the deployment of armed forces for the pandemic, the virus is still rampant around the globe, and yet corporations rush to behave like it’s all over.
I was out today for awhile and notice how only about one third of folks on the bus and in grocery stores are wearing masks. I said previously it mostly seemed to be women, but today’s sample ran right across gender, ages and physical types, making it impossible to generalize. Some wear a mask, more don’t.
Chris 14:43 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
>…behave like it’s all over.
What do you mean by “over”? Do you believe the spread of the virus can be stopped? Impossible. That ship sailed months ago. It can be slowed, controlled, mitigated, but there is no “over”. It’s a force of nature and we have to live with it. Even police states like China, Saudi, etc. haven’t stopped it.
>Does anyone else feel like things are rushing in two directions?
Yes, I do. There seem to be those that think everyone should stay locked at home forever, and those that acknowledge the virus is here and that we have to live with it, just like we live with other viruses, car crashes, air pollution, heart disease, etc. We make concerted efforts to mitigate them all, but life must go on.
MarcG 15:07 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
I think Kate is observing that there is a group of people who are making no attempt to help mitigate it. I don’t know if they’re “acknowledg[ing] the virus is here and that we have to live with it” or just being ignorant.
Myles 15:18 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
Exactly. The ones who are acknowledging that the virus is here and that we have to live with it are the ones wearing masks.
Alison Cummins 15:52 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
As long as the virus is here and we’re living with it with no vaccine, the people whose job it is to work with the public, thereby exposing themselves and others to it, are entitled to danger pay.
That *IS* living with it.
Chris 18:47 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
>there is a group of people who are making no attempt to help mitigate it.
Lack of mask ≠ making no attempt to help mitigate. Those non-mask wearers could well be washing their hands often, standing 2m away from people, working from home, shopping only once a week, etc., etc. Are they worse than mask wearers that do none of those things? I’ve observed that mask wearers get closer than 2m, they think they are impervious I guess. Anyone else noticed that?
MarcG 18:53 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
If you’re on the bus or in the grocery store without a mask I would say you are making no attempt in that circumstance.
JP 22:36 on 2020-06-12 Permalink
I went into the dollar store today for a few things. I saw two young employees not wearing masks, with hardly arms length distance chatting and laughing away. I get that it’s hard to always maintain distance, I get that it’s hard to always wear a mask, but it just seemed irresponsible to be chatting so closely that way. (And also not making much way for clients passing). It left an impression on me. Maybe they’re sisters and live together? Maybe we see what we want to see.
When we were scanning/paying at the automatic do-it-yourself machines, the employees were wearing masks, but kept getting *really* close as we were scanning our items. I think they were concerned about theft, but nevertheless, it was annoying.