It is difficult for companies to deal with positive cases

With the new measures giving priority to health care workers and other specific groups for PCR testing, employers in other industries are finding it difficult to deal with positive cases among their employees.

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“It’s very complex. Our employees are responsible for self – management, self – determination. Worse, we need to adjust, we do not have a ton of staff storage, we have small teams. It means people keep themselves alone for three, four days with nothing, ”Explained Amelie Cloutier Bastian, co-owner of Mere Helen Boutique.

In addition, not all companies and employees have access to expedited testing.

“Rapid tests are a rarity. We’m lucky, most of our employees are mothers of children in elementary school, they have a reserve of five exams, and they run out quickly during the holidays, ”she continues.

According to her, the five fastest tests for the family are very few.

Employers also have the right to seek proof of a positive test for COVID-19, advocate Marion Plamandon argued.

“We have to trust the word of the employees. From the moment we encounter an employee with an absence issue or performance issues, the employer may ask for justification. The employer cannot ask for proof because we are in an epidemic, ”she explains, in this case confirming that the burden of proving his absence was on the employee.

Other workers fear they will return to work too soon.

Many unions fear that after a five-day isolation period, employees will still be forced to work despite having many Kovid symptoms.

Labor shortages are believed to be putting pressure on employers and employees.

“We are concerned that not all employers will be pressured to expedite the return of workers,” said FTQ Secretary General Denise Boldak.