Canadians are refusing to return to work as businesses reopen, opting instead to remain on government assistance.
A survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) found that a third of 3,389 employers polled indicating that some of their laid-off staff have refused to return to work. Of the nearly 870 businesses that provided reasons for their employees refusing to return to work, 62% reported that workers "prefer the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)," the government benefit that pays them $2,000 a month.
Employers could choose more than one explanation for why a worker refused to return to work, and respondents also selected options such as concern for health (47%), childcare obligations (27%) or lack of hours in return offer (16%).
CFIB President Dan Kelly said it is "clear" that CERB "created a disincentive to return to work for some staff, especially in industries like hospitality." Other economic sectors where CERB is keeping workers home include childcare, dental offices, home health care, amusement parks, gambling and spectator sports, the study suggested.
"CERB was created as emergency support for workers who had lost their job due to the pandemic, not to fund a summer break," Kelly said in a written statement about the survey results.
The survey suggested that the hospitality sector has the biggest share of employers, 45%, who had trouble recalling workers. CFIB defines hospitality as including hotels, restaurants and bars. CFIB represents small and medium-sized businesses and has 110,000 members. It collected the survey results from members online between July 3 and 6.
Related Stories
