With restrictions loosening, employers need to make sure that their workers' concerns are heard
Nunavut and Nova Scotia are among the most recent jurisdictions to have dropped mask mandates. Effective July 4, masks were no longer mandated by a public health order in health facilities, schools and government buildings. And on July 6, Nova Scotia dropped all its remaining COVID restrictions.
“We are at a place now with our epidemiology and our ongoing adaptation to COVID being with us for the long term that we feel we’re at a point now where it’s appropriate to do what many other provinces are already doing,” said Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, during news conference last week.
Though he recognized that the lifting of COVID restrictions may lead to more pandemic-related cases, he Strang also said that Canada has to contend with living with the virus in the long-term.
This seems to be the train of thought in most provinces, despite the potential threat of a new COVID spike in the fall linked to Omicron variants. Despite this, many workplaces around Canada seem to be happy to drop pandemic measures such as mask mandates, which have been controversial since their inception – not just in Canada but around the world.
Without public health bodies enforcing guidelines, it will be up to employers to decide whether mask mandates or mandatory vaccine policies should still have a place in the workplace. And though many workers seem to be happy with dropping the mask, others are not.
A recent survey conducted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) found that many Canadian flight attendants want airlines to continue with masking mandates (which are still in place on airplanes) because it makes them feel well protected.
And speaking with the Globe and Mail, Alberta emergency physician Chuck Wurster reckons that public health authorities across the country have dropped the mandate too early. With different opinions coming in, employers and OHS practitioners may be at a loss as to what they should be doing. Here are three things that workplaces can do to ensure that workers remain safe amid the ongoing pandemic.
Consult with employees. As mentioned before, there are a number of different views swirling around on the topic. It can be hard to glean what workers may think. Employers and OHS professionals should be open lines of communication with workers and ask them what they think and are comfortable with. Consider sending out an (anonymous) survey or organization one-on-one chats with employees to get their thoughts.
Keep masks at workers’ disposal. Even if a mandate is dropped, it is likely that there are still some workers who may feel comfortable wearing a mask at work. For these workers, employers should ensure that there is adequate PPE (surgical masks, face shields and even N95s) at their disposal. Employees may of course want to bring in their own masks, but providing masks also shows a lot of goodwill, and ensures that reticent workers know that their concerns are being heard.
Consider creating a policy for potential future infectious disease prevention. The pandemic may be (hopefully) winding down, but this doesn’t mean that another viral outbreak won’t happen again. Employers and safety professionals should make sure that they are prepped for all scenarios, and rather than waiting for public health bodies to enforce measures the next time round, plan for protective measures such as mask mandates to be included in their workplace health and safety plans.
