Bulletin
INFO COVID-19 – 7 Reopening of economic sectors

30 April 2020

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May 5^TH, 2020 UPDATE

Here are the details of the deconfinement plan announced by the government of Quebec.

Dates	Economic sectors	Regions
May 4	Shops with an exterior door	All of Quebec except for the Montreal region
May 25	Shops with an exterior door	Region of Montreal (MCM)
May 11	Manufactures / Factories (If more than 50 workers : only 50% of workers per shift)	All of Quebec
May 11	Construction (All sectors)	All of Quebec
May 25	Manufactures / Factories (Full worforce)	All of Quebec

In addition, the opening of daycares, elementary and preschools is scheduled for May 11 and May 25 for the MCM.

Any company that can continue its teleworking activities must do so;
Sunday closures for all businesses excluding convenience stores and pharmacies will continue until May 31^st;
Businesses that were already considered as essential services can proceed normally.

EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS FOR RETURN TO WORK:

The employer must take all the necessary measures to protect the health, safety and physical integrity of workers AND must identify, control and eliminate the risks that threaten employees. To fulfill this obligation prescribed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the employer must develop a return to work strategy. We invite you to request the recovery plan from employers.

In summary, the return to work plan must:

Encourage compliance with the instructions, given to employees who must self-isolate, who have restrictions to be respected by working time adjustment measures;
Promote hand hygiene measures and the application of respiratory hygiene and etiquette by providing workers with the necessary equipment;
Promote social distancing measure;
Ensure regular cleaning and more frequent disinfection of frequently touched objects;
Have an infection control plan adapted to the specific context of their workplace and see to its implementation.

Tools on return to work plans are available on the following sites:

Here are some answers to questions you may have:

I live with a vulnerable person (with fragile health) and my employer calls me back to work, can I refuse?

The employee may not exercise a right of refusal or a preventive withdrawal, because this risk is not a condition of its own;
The law grants 10 days of absence per year to fulfill obligations related to the health status of a parent;
If you have 3 months of continuous service, you could also have access to the salary for your first 2 days of absence taken during the year. Remember that only the first 2 days can be paid on the 10 days granted by the law. The other 8 days are without remuneration unless there are superior provisions in the collective agreement;
If the employee decides not to report for work, this could be considered as a voluntary departure which would make him ineligible for the Canadian Emergency Service in addition to exposing himself to disciplinary and / or administrative measures.

2. My employer called me to return to work, but I decided that my children were not going back to school or daycare?

Schools and daycare services are expected to open at the same time as businesses;
You must have a reason justifying the refusal to send your child to school or to childcare, for example, your child suffers from a chronic illness making him more vulnerable to the consequences of COVID-19. Otherwise your refusal could make you ineligible for the Canadian Emergency Benefit in addition to exposing yourself to disciplinary and / or administrative measures;
The law grants 10 days of absence per year to fulfill obligations related to the health status of a parent;
If you have 3 months of continuous service, you could also have access to the salary for your first 2 days of absence taken during the year. Remember that only the first 2 days can be paid on the 10 days granted by the law. The other 8 days are without remuneration unless there are superior provisions in the collective agreement.

If my employer does not call me back to work on the announced date of resumption of activity in the economic sector for which I work?

I am over 60 years old, should I return to work if my employer calls me back?

For the moment, there are no rules exempting people aged 60 and over from returning to work;
For workers aged 70 and over, a case-by-case assessment must be made;
If the worker does not provide essential services, he should stay at home and, if possible, continue with teleworking. If this is not possible and this worker offers an essential service, he can be kept on the job if he is in good health while putting in place protective measures for himself. The worker must apply the preventive measures.

This document will be updated as the situation evolves.

FOR ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR UNION REPRESENTATIVE.