Restaurant workers dealing with anger, abuse and racism as they try to enforce vaccine mandates
Global News
Vaccine passports are emerging as the latest challenge for restaurant workers in Canada, as many face verbal abuse, sexual harassment and racism from customers.
When a proof-of-vaccine policy was announced, Juliana Murphy knew it would be another burden she’d face at work.
“I’ve had grown men yell and raise a fist at me just because of contact tracing,” says the waitress at a Halifax breakfast restaurant. “I knew asking them to show me proof of their COVID-19 shots would be worse.”
Vaccine passports are emerging as the latest challenge for restaurant workers in Canada, as many face verbal abuse, sexual harassment and racism from customers.
Restaurant staff across the country say while most customers are respectful of the new vaccine requirements, others are argumentative and angry.
They describe a work environment where they are routinely grilled about COVID-19 vaccine certification policies, with a small number of customers becoming belligerent and intimidating.
They describe the added work of enforcing COVID-19 restrictions as exhausting and stressful.
In response, some restaurant operators have hired security guards to review vaccination records and identification before allowing customers to sit at a table.
But in most cases, the responsibility falls to front-of-house staff — a largely young, part-time and low-wage workforce that’s already under strain from an industry-wide labour shortage.
