The public outcry to work, learn and stay at home as much as possible continues to grow in the community to help tamp down escalating rates of COVID-19 infection.
But not all Newmarket workers have that option. And they, too, are as concerned about possible exposure to and spread of the potentially deadly respiratory disease as their well-meaning neighbours.
Local employers that have been deemed essential by the Ontario government and are open for business are moving quickly to put measures in place to protect staff and customers to slow the spread of the virus that's now being transmitted from person to person in York Region.
A call centre representative at Newmarket’s largest private-sector employer, Bill Gosling Outsourcing, said the precautions are not coming fast enough.
“I can stand up on my desk and see 800 people on the floor,” said the worker, who asked that their name be withheld from publication for fear of retribution. “There’s no cubicles, no divisions, everybody is within arm’s reach from our colleagues on either side.”
It’s impossible to carry out social distancing, the worker said, of the practice that finds individuals keeping a six-foot, or two-metre, physical distance between themselves and others when interacting in a public space.
The worker questions why so many people can be inside the building when the provincial government has banned groups of 50 or more from gathering together in one place.
Bill Gosling, headquarted in Newmarket at Yonge Street and Mulock Road, manages debt collections for various clients, including credit card and auto loan companies, as well as handling customer care service for others.
It has branches around the world, including in the Philippines, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, and the United States.
More than 800 employees work at the Newmarket call centre that spans about 80,000 square feet.
“We are a large group of people working together, and we come from all over York Region ... Newmarket, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Maple, Richmond Hill, and some from Holland Landing and Barrie,” the worker said.
The employee said one of their particular concerns since March 11 when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic is the more than 800 workers having to enter and exit the secure facility via three turnstiles, and punch in security codes by hand.
“Many of our staff have travelled outside of Canada,” they said. “Look, we all have at least one person depending on us at home. That’s 800 families who might potentially be affected by this virus and I’m still at my desk today.”
Bill Gosling is regarded as an essential service by the Ontario government under the banking and activities related to credit intermediation category. It is exempt from the forced closure of non-essential businesses and services that takes effect at 11:59 p.m. today, March 24, for a two-week period.
But regardless, the company is aiming to move the majority of its employees to a work-from-home setting and has already activated several precautions to protect the health of its workers, CEO David Rae told NewmarketToday.
“We don’t want anybody feeling that we’re not taking this seriously because we are, first and foremost, and we want to make sure that everybody is healthy and make sure that everybody keeps their jobs,” Rae said, while acknowledging staff concerns about social distancing.
“I’m sorry that that person hasn’t realized what’s going on because the amount of communications we have been releasing in every fashion possible has been absolutely overwhelming,” he added.
Rae said the 800-plus employees are not all at the building at the same time because of shift work. But last week, the company sent 200 staff members to work from home and expects another 400 this week to be set up to work from home temporarily.
That leaves about 200 people at the Newmarket location, some of whom are needed for certain essential functions such as information technology, said Rae.
“We are furiously working on that as fast as we can,” he said. “Anybody that is not comfortable being there has been told they do not have to come to work, they can stay at home.”
It has been a complicated process to physically relocate the office equipment to workers’ homes, and ensure they have secure access to information technology systems to prevent security breaches of clients' confidential information.
“We’re dealing with all these kinds of things, trying to make sure all of our people are safe and looked after, and communicated with accordingly, and I certainly understand this is a time of anxiety for many people,” he said.
Among the health and safety precautions being taken at the Newmarket call centre include spreading out workers so that social distancing can be observed at work stations and the lunchroom, boosted cleaning and sanitization of all work surfaces and spaces, and taking every employee’s temperature when they come through the entrance, he said.
If anybody has a temperature of 38C or higher, they are sent home, Rae said.
“These are things we’re trying to do to make sure we don’t have any spread of viruses in our operations in all five countries, and it’s not just COVID-19,” he said. “If people are getting the regular flu that makes them more susceptible.”
Rae expects the impact of the pandemic will continue to be a difficult situation for individuals and local businesses as the situation is unfolding and changing quickly.
“We are doing everything in our power not to have any layoffs, we might have some reduced shifts but we’re going to do everything so nobody is laid off,” he added. “We still have to be able to live as humans and be interactive and caring for each other, and we need businesses to be able to survive through this.”
“If the majority of businesses don’t exist anymore, we’re going to have a lot more problems than a pandemic on our hands,” Rae said.
Newmarket Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tracy Walter said employers have “many difficult decisions to make in order to address business demands and health needs”.
The local business leader encourages all business owners to determine the best practices for their operations, according to health guidelines provided by various levels of government.
Dedicated COVID-19 webpages are available at the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario government, Government of Canada, and Town of Newmarket.
“The COVID-19 situation is rapidly changing, and businesses need to determine what is best for the health of both their business and their employees,” Walter said. “It isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution at this time and there is conflicting messaging.”
Meanwhile, a worker at a department store self-checkout area is ringing the alarm over the inability to practise social distancing in the area, despite tape markers on the floor to make it easier for people.
“There is tape to indicate where people should stand, but once inside the self-checkout area, that goes out the window,” said the Walmart associate, who asked that their name be withheld from publication for fear of retribution.
“This is especially true with customers who are price-matching,” they said. “There’s no way an associate can easily read the online ads on people’s smartphones from six feet apart.”
Walmart has taken several measures to protect the health of its workers and the public, including providing gloves and sanitizer, reducing store hours from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. to restock and sanitize, closing dressing rooms and bulk bins, and dedicating one hour each day from 7 to 8 a.m. to seniors and vulnerable individuals.
Walmart Canada did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
In the meantime, the Bill Gosling employee continues to take personal precautions to prevent the potential spread of the virus, which includes stripping off all their clothes in the garage after work, putting their clothes directly in the washing machine, scrubbing up with soap and water in the laundry tub, before heading into the home to put on fresh clothing.
"I still have to go to work every day because I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know how I’m going to support my family, pay rent, pay utilities, and everything. It’s overwhelming at this point," they said through tears.
The Walmart employee is also taking extra precautions and digging into their meagre savings to take an Uber home instead of public transit.
