{"id":40690,"date":"2020-07-10T01:03:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T05:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=40690"},"modified":"2025-07-02T04:11:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:11:05","slug":"scandal-in-aisle-3-time-for-canadas-wealthy-grocery-store-owners-to-clean-up-their-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/40690\/scandal-in-aisle-3-time-for-canadas-wealthy-grocery-store-owners-to-clean-up-their-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Scandal in Aisle 3: Time for Canada\u2019s wealthy grocery store owners to clean up their act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Our economy is no doubt suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some among us have financially benefited from this crisis. <\/p>\n\n

One month into pandemic lockdowns, 5.5 million Canadians<\/a> had either lost their jobs or seen their hours cut more than half. While many people are struggling to pay bills, major grocery store owners have raked in millions in profits.<\/strong> So when major supermarkets decided to cut the $2-an-hour pay bump<\/a> (called \u201cHero Pay\u201d or \u201cPandemic Premiums\u201d) to frontline workers, it raised more than one eyebrow. <\/p>\n\n

Following widespread public outrage,executives of Loblaw Companies Ltd., Metro Inc. and Empire Company Ltd. have been <\/strong>summoned to appear before a Parliamentary committee<\/strong><\/a> today to explain the <\/strong>apparently coordinated pay cuts<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>As Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who initiated the motion for these hearings, put it<\/a>, \u201cTo see record profits and grocery store executives slash pandemic pay in the middle of pandemic, it doesn\u2019t sit right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Contact your MP and tell them you support a wealth tax for the rich and a living wage for employees<\/h4>\n\n
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EMAIL YOUR MP<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Many employees along with their unions have been hurt by this decision, which has been called unjustified<\/a>. A letter from a grocery store worker<\/a> from Kingston Ontario, says it best: \u201cI get paid minimum wage and most of my earnings go towards paying rent. […] We don\u2019t want to be labelled as \u2018heroes\u2019. All we need is a better pay \u2013 during all times. We need some protection from getting exposed at work and essential workers deserve a better life too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These grocery store giants are justifying their decision by saying things have now normalized<\/a>. But even if businesses are reopening their doors, the pandemic is not over. If anything, this pandemic has exposed long-standing injustices and brought about a greater awareness of income inequality and health risks faced by retail workers.<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace has long been pushing grocery store retailers like Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro and Save-on-Foods to take responsibility for the environmental impact of what\u2019s on their shelves, from ensuring they\u2019re stocking sustainably caught seafood<\/a>, dealing with their plastic packaging problem<\/a>, to reducing food waste<\/a>. Let\u2019s stand with frontline workers to ensure that grocery stores, their investors and wealthy owners clean up their act <\/strong>and take responsibility for the wellbeing of who<\/em>\u2019s stocking their shelves, too. <\/p>\n\n

Read on to learn more.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Dozens of grocery store workers have contracted the coronavirus in Canada https:\/\/t.co\/zBA3X5yJMB<\/a><\/p>— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) July 7, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>