Starbucks Canada offers employees three paid sick days until September

Starbucks is offering all its Canadian retail employees three temporary paid sick days from April 19 to Sept. 25.

The move comes after Ontario announced a similar three-day sick leave policy that would reimburse employers up to $200 a day for what they pay out.

The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened calls for businesses to provide workers with paid sick leave, as workplaces become a key site for the virus' transmission.

Starbucks said the paid sick days would be in addition to its other COVID-19 supports, which include up to two hours of paid time off for each dose of the vaccine and up to four hours of paid time off to recover from side effects.

The company also announced it would raise its starting barista rate to $0.25 above provincial minimum wages starting May 31.

It said all hourly baristas, shift supervisors and cafe attendants would receive at least a 5% increase.