The Union of Service Employees, Local 800 (SEU 800), is calling on the government to recognize housekeeping attendants as frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19 and to prioritize them in access to vaccination once it becomes available.
“Our members put their health at risk by disinfecting and decontaminating all kinds of surfaces across Quebec. They perform essential work to eliminate the virus and prevent its spread. They must be included among the priorities in the government’s vaccination plan,” said SEU 800 Executive Vice-President Cristina Cabral.
According to SEU 800, the government should not limit its prioritization solely to housekeeping employees working in the healthcare system. Both in the public and private sectors, housekeeping attendants perform essential and reassuring work for the population. They are exposed daily to the virus in all the places where they work, whether in schools, daycare centres, long-term care facilities, office towers, factories, shopping centres, etc. They deserve to be included in the priority list for access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
SEU 800 represents 25,000 workers, including approximately 10,000 housekeeping attendants. UES 800 is affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL), the largest labour federation in Quebec, with more than 600,000 members.
SOURCE: Union of Service Employees, Local 800 (Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL))
Translated into English by SEU800 from the original French-language press release.