TORONTO -- While health-care officials stress the importance of social distancing and staying home due to COVID-19, new data reveals that 80 per cent of leave taken by low-wage workers in the Greater Toronto Area is unpaid.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published a report Monday looking into the state of low-wage workers, people who make $15 an hour and under, in the GTA and their access to paid leave in 2019.

David Macdonald, the report’s author, told CTV News Toronto the lack of support for low-wage earners is putting them in very difficult position as the province shuts down schools, urges people to stay home and closes down government services resulting in lost shifts and declining incomes.

“We’re putting workers in an impossible situation,” Macdonald said. “What’s going to happen here is that the economic impact is going to be felt at the same time as the public health impact, [and] the lowest income folk are going to be hit the hardest.”

Many Canadian workers don't have the option to "work from home". Main professions for women: Caring, Catering, cleaning, cashering & Clerical. For men: truck driving, building trades & equipment operating. Good luck telecommuting to those jobs. @ccpa https://t.co/8kIoInhfBL — David Macdonald (@DavidMacCdn) March 16, 2020

The report, which is based on data from the 2019 labour force survey, found that the GTA is ahead of places like Ottawa and Hamilton when it came to paid leave for low-wage workers, but it’s falling far behind other major cities like Montreal and Calgary.

Macdonald said that the data showed that work in industries most likely to be impacted by COVID-19 were among the groups least likely to have access to paid leave.

Only 32 per cent of leave was paid for retail workers, and 22 per cent in the accommodation and food services industries.

“One of the things we wanted to make clear is that a lot of the options being stressed [by health officials], to stay home when you’re sick … working from home if you can, for working class folks those aren’t options,” he said.

“We need options for folks who are delivering food, making food, and caring for others and cleaning buildings that might be infected, at present we have almost no supports for them.”

While paid leave for permanent employees in the GTA exceeded the national average (54 per cent) by one per cent, only three per cent of seasonal employees were given paid leave.

“I really think the non-permanent seasonal work [number] is pretty concerning and a pretty big difference from the GTA to the national average,” Macdonald said.

Workers you most want to stay home if ill: food prep ... workers least likely to have paid leave: food prep #COVID19 @ccpa https://t.co/8kIoInhfBL pic.twitter.com/A4y9Rwbv3t — David Macdonald (@DavidMacCdn) March 16, 2020

In 2019, the report found that only 14 per cent of the leave taken by Canadian workers in the lowest income group was paid, while those with higher earnings had 74 per cent of their leave covered by their employer.

Macdonald said the data is concerning because it means that a lot of lower-income workers have no paid leave to fall back on.

With schools and many daycare services closing, people are forced to leave work to remain with their children, he said, adding that many other people are forced to take unpaid leave either because they are ill or their workplace is winding down operations due to COVID-19.

“It makes for very difficult choices,” Macdonald said. “These options that seem to be pushed as options for everyone are not options for everyone; in fact often they are just options for higher income of folks, who are reasonably well insured in any event.”