March 25, 2020 An open letter to the Honourable Scott Moe, MLA, Premier of Saskatchewan Dear Mr. Premier: It is urgent that your government mandate enhanced health and safety standards to better protect the lives of essential retail workers and the public they serve during the COVID-19 public health crisis. The public have been made aware of the necessity of social distancing, regular disinfecting and sanitizing, and the avoidance of non-essential contact with others. Different levels of government have mandated closures of some businesses, enforced self-isolation, and provided some financial assistance to those staying at home or who have been laid off. Yet, the grocery, service and retail sectors and their frontline workers have been essentially overlooked regarding regulatory measures to protect them during the current public health crisis. While some responsible businesses have taken it upon themselves to implement measures to reduce the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus, and to protect their retail workers and customers and public at large – some business have not. Grocery and retail workers are providing vital services to our province during the COVID-19 pandemic with a high exposure risk to themselves and their families. UFCW 1400 represents thousands of these retail workers, and on their behalf we ask that you act without delay to protect them and better safeguard the people of Saskatchewan. We ask that you mandate, without delay, health and safety standards for retail industry employers to protect retail workers, consumers, and residents of this province during this public health crisis. Responsible businesses have voluntarily taken on considerable expense to ensure their COVID-19 footprint is as minimal as possible but that is not enough. We are asking for the following mandated measures as a minimum to protect retail workers and consumers: 1. Protective shields at cash tills; 2. Staff dedicated to sanitizing common surfaces; President Norm Neault Secretary-Treasurer Lucia Flack Figueiredo 1526 Fletcher Road, Saskatoon, SK S7M 5M1 306.384.5787 1.800.274.4036 Fax: 306.978.0790 A-845 McDonald Street, Regina, SK S4N 2X5 306.791.4881 1.888.886.9016 Fax: 306.791.4883 Page 2 3. Regulation and limitation on the number and flow of customers in stores; 4. Reduced hours and specialized hours for high risk and highly vulnerable persons; 5. Posting of signs illustrating risk reduction; 6. Temporary ban or limits on advertising; 7. Security personnel to enforce social distancing and purchase limits; 8. Sanctioned limits on purchasing with enforceable fines to consumers; 9. Prohibition on reusable bags; 10. Physical means to facilitate social distancing (i.e. tape on floors, cordoned off areas) 11. Premiums of no less than two dollars to the wages of these front line workers. 12. Regular updates on information on the spread of COVID-19 within the place of business. Responsible businesses have implemented some, if not all of these measures, but the risk is too great to allow this to be only voluntary. We urge you to take immediate action to set the minimum standards for the health and safety in the retail industry. This can save lives. We are available at any time for consultation. We and our members and the Saskatchewan community await your response. Sincerely, Norm Neault, President UFCW Canada Local 1400