App-based ride-hailing and food-delivery gig workers will soon have better working conditions with new protections, including basic employment standards.

Premier John Horgan and Harry Bains, Minister of Labour, have issued the following statement:

Paid sick leave will be standard for workers in British Columbia beginning Jan. 1, 2022, with a minimum of five paid sick days each year.

British Columbians are invited to have their say on three proposed options for permanent paid sick leave shaped by their responses to the first phase of consultation.

British Columbians are invited to provide input into the development of made-in-B.C. permanent paid sick leave to support workers and protect workplaces.

Workers will soon have access to a made-in-B.C. paid sick leave program that will support workers to stay home when they are sick during the pandemic and afterward, including permanent paid sick leave, as a result of legislation tabled Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

The B.C. government has introduced amendments to the Employment Standards Act that, if passed, will provide workers with up to three hours of paid leave to get each dose of their COVID-19 vaccine.