Remember “White Juan” about a decade ago? Yeah, I know it was 2004 but surely you can shake off the cobwebs enough to remember that the whole of HRM was shut down due to inclement weather, right? So, what did we learn? Not a damn thing apparently! I was completely appalled to see that retailers were once again forcing their employees, who by the way work for minimum wage (a standard pittance), to come to work on January 3rd, 2014. Despite the police advisories to stay off of the roads and Metro Transit shutting down all services, employees were REQUIRED to appear for their shifts no matter the excuse. Once again, we see corporate greed superseding the safety of humans during extreme circumstances. Is this what snow days have become in HRM? There are an exorbitant amount of reports of female employees being left stranded due to a lack of public and private transportation during blizzard conditions which left them to the resort of their own two feet and a heartbeat to walk for many miles. HRPD has reported bailing many stranded vehicles during that time. Is this a good use of their resources? How can we in good conscience say that this is right by any means? I say things need to change around here for the better starting with an actual concern for the well being of those people who work at the counters and cash registers in these types of situations. If we agree to outsource to other provinces, the USA and overseas for business then let’s keep it real here at home. Waiting for a taxi that you can’t afford and that may or may not come is not the answer. Employers need to be more accountable to their employees in this matter and provide safe transportation or accommodations for their employees in these types of scenarios. A contingency plan is an absolute must! Please contact your MLA for an amendment to NS Labour Standards regarding these situations. End rant. —Krayzee T
This article appears in Dec 26, 2013 – Jan 1, 2014.
It’s truly a shame that employers think more of bottom line than the safety of their employees. Maybe the workers had to show up, but I can guarantee there were next to no shoppers to make the business worth being open. I even heard of some taxi companies shutting their doors for business. Having transit and the POLICE being told to stay off the roads should have been a wake up call for dumb ass employers.
Most places were shut down. But some places just NEED to stay open no matter the cost..
Thank-you Propeller!
During the first storm, a shopping district kept putting updates on their facebook page to get people out shopping. There were some very angry comments about the irresponsibility and the callousness of it. The district’s comments to that? More promotion.
It was a really good example of a corporate PR person not knowing the difference between their arse and their head.
It would require balls, sadly lacking in Shawshank, but, if the buses are cancelled and the police are telling folks to stay off the roads, then shopping malls should be forced to close.
I know our previous mayor was a dud, but I think Savage has hibernated.
my grand daughter was required to be at work that day. and sent home in the height of the storm. no one needs to buy ladies frillies that urgently.
with the malls, correct me if someone knows differently – they require their tenants to be open to fulfill contracts, yes? so the individual stores may not have a choice in the matter.
When the police put “stay off the road” announcements , stores should have to close EXCEPT IF the owner wants to go & open/operate their store on their own.
That way employees are able to stay safe at home & won’t have the worry of owners causing them grief.
Another way to sort it out , is when police order “stay off the roads” anyone in an accident has no insurance coverage. Let those 600 + accident reported vehicle crashes pay out of their own pockets .
The sheeple (some certainly not all) only recognize higher cost as a deterrent to blind herd mentality .
So hit them in the pocketbook, for the really stupid let them pay out the nose a couple times & maybe actual experience will smarten them up
Perhaps, the only ones wanting to purchase ladies frillies were the Jugaloos? We haven’t used them in a post for some time.
Hello Krayzee,
It all sounds great. Who’s going to pay for it? Because doing these things cost a lot, doesn’t it? Giving days off with pay, transportation, etc. ends up being a fortune spent. The retailers will be forced to raise prices to maintain their profit.
So are you, the consumer, willing to pay for this?
Point the finger all you like, the way things are reflect the reality of who we really are .. as opposed to who we purport to be.
What?! Why Sobeys closed at 3pm!
I hated snow days when I was under-waged, I was either going to lose out on pay or have to figure out how to get another shift at work in 🙁 Why isn’t Halifax located somewhere more tropical?
I’m pretty sure you can cite OH&S in a situation like what happened Friday, but I could be wrong.
I remember working during that , and yeah I was in HSC, We were let go AFTER Tr4ansit shut down. Luckly i only lived 9 mins away, but sadly in the storm I got lost in the white out and didn’t get home for an hour. My usual short cut nearly killed me. What was worse , the lazy fat ass manager didn’t get in because of the weather, called us, to “thank” us for braving the storm. As Christmas help I was let go afterwards. Was a shame I loved working for the company before that.
I remember a few years ago when the NSLC wouldn’t permit their stores to close before 6pm during a bad snow storm. Completely reckless way to treat your employees.
292 cm in a week of snow dropped in Ontario/new york in 1998. on top of all that was there previously…yet ontario didnt stop….government did but the rest of ontario didnt…new york went into a state of emergency. why the FUCK would you whiners even associate the recent “snow event” with white juan, which really wasnt that bad, or anything like a REAL snow storm or ‘event’ as the idiots are calling it now…bitch and moan..pay me but dont make me work society is KILLING us. the snow dump in 98, made this look like a joke…and it was, in cole harbour i got more snow on my yard from the snow plows pushing it off the road than i actually from anything else…and it was a BREEEEEEZE to drive in. i actually LOVE going out driving in the snow. why? i learned how to do it in northern ontario, whitehorse, all through northern alberta etc…..FUCKING JOKE people is what this bitch is. oh there was also a brutal winter with over 6 feet of snow in Niagara Region in the early 80’s…i was sliding off my roof to the road from the pileup…dad still went to work though.