Our corporate overlords price gouge our bread, dairy, and maple syrup. They rob us blind, but only scrape us their scraps if we stand all day?
In 2023, the inflation rate was 3.4%, but food inflation was 8.3%. Where did this extra money go? Right into their pockets.
23% of Canadians are unable to afford a complete diet. We're now lessertarians, unable to afford staple foods.
Five retailers make up 76% of all Canadian grocery retailers. Empire, Metro, and Loblaws own over 30 subsidiary brands.
Sure, they've been fixing the price of bread since 2001, but they gave us a $25 gift card so we're cool, right?
"I worked my way up from son of CEO to CEO, but quit when the public learned I was a dork. I made 22 million dollars in 2023 by working 1,271,676 times harder than my lazy cashiers. That's why I get a chair."
"We spent 2 billion over 3 years on an initiative to win the online grocery sales battle. We should retrofit our checkouts to accomodate stools? Sorry, we don't have any money in our budget for that nonsense."
I'm the CEO of Wal-Mart Canada. We've been busting unions for decades. If you didn't know we're anti-union by now you've been living under a rock. Fun fact: all executive chairs at Walmart look like this.
There's no reason a cashier should be forced to stand 40 hours a week. The right to sit is enshrined into law in other countries such as the U.K., Germany, and Finland. Workplace Regulations 1992 stipulates "if staff can sit while they are working, the employer must provide suitable seating". Cashiers at all major supermarkets get chairs in the U.K. Why don't we?
Things could be better in Canada. I'd be very surprised if this site fixes Canada's high food prices, but it might light the spark that gets a 58 year old mother of 3 a stool. We as Canadians can solve any problem if we put our minds to it. I believe that if we work together we can let cashiers sit, and maybe even one day make sure our neighbours always have enough to eat.
"Cashier Supermarket" by Paulien Osse is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Tell your MP all Canadians deserve the right to sit.
To: [MP Name]
From: [Name] <contact@letcashierssit.ca>
Dear [MP Name],
Canadians stand on guard at our grocery tills, yet a cashier can fulfill their duties while seated. We should enjoy the same rights that our British counterparts across the Atlantic do: "If staff can sit while they are working, the employer must provide suitable seating".
I urge you to guarantee every Canadian cashier goes without sore feet. I can be reached at [Email].
Sincerely,
[Name]
