Instead of singing a song out of their windows and collectively making loud "Woo woo" noises, Canada is increasing the wages of essential workers across the country battling hard during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This newfound conscience has been reported as a blunt admission that many who are risking their health to work during the pandemic are possibly making the least.

"If you are risking your health to keep this country moving and you're making minimum wage, you deserve a raise," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced, making good on a promise to increase salaries.

Trudeau's government will spend more than US$3 billion to raise wages for essential workers making less than about US$1,800 a month.

"I think one of the things that we're seeing through this pandemic is that there are people who are tremendously economically vulnerable, and vulnerable in other ways in our society, who are extremely important to the functioning of our society," Trudeau said.

Pay raise welcomed

One large health care union representing about 60,000 workers welcomed the news but cautioned that workers need to see money in their pockets soon, without bureaucracy getting in the way.

"The essential service workers that right now help save our lives and care for our loved ones are a lot of the minimum wage earners, the lowest paid in society. They have precarious work and our lives are depending on them right now," Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare told CNN.

"Front line essential workers now are exhausted, they're terrified, they've got colleagues in every sector dying."

"It's nice to hear but they are exhausted from that and they want to see those words turned into action now."

Getting people back to work

The lack of personal protective equipment in Canada healthcare has been an ongoing issue, as has been the guarantee of earning a living wage.

Provinces and territories get to decide who gets a raise, but front line health care workers and some food industry employees will be given priority.

Provinces have been struggling to fill positions in hard-hit senior homes that have been ravaged by the virus.

The injection of money will go towards encouraging people back to work with bonuses and hourly wage increases.

Canada continues to struggle with hundreds of coronavirus outbreaks in senior homes throughout the country.

About 80 percent of those who have died from Covid-19 in Canada were residents of long-term care centers.

Top photo via Justin Trudeau