Coronavirus: ‘Exposing the cracks in the system which was never fit for purpose’
by Dave Murphy
Workers and their families across the country are coming to terms with the devastating impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis and the burden this will put on their health, but also their financial situation.
Over 150,000 workers have lost their jobs in pubs, restaurants, tourism, childcare and many other sectors; with another 200,000 jobs under real threat in retail. Some workers are lucky enough to be able to isolate themselves and work from home, but for many others they still have to go to work while carrying the same stress as everyone else in relation to their health and mental health during this crisis.
We’ve spoken to a number of workers about their experience of being made unemployed overnight, continuing to work in this situation and safety measures (or the lack of) which are being implemented in many companies. We spoke to a leisure centre worker and bar worker who have been laid off, a pharmacy worker and a factory production worker who are still currently working. We are not using their names to protect them from victimisation.
“We thought we’d be kept informed”
The leisure centre worker we spoke to described how swiftly and without warning he was laid off in a brief letter from management. “The centre I worked in had a swimming pool and other community facilities. We thought we would be affected by the virus, but we thought we would be kept informed. Instead, we just received a letter from management saying the centre had to shut and to go to the welfare office.’ This has been repeated across many sectors for bar-workers and restaurant workers because of the social-distancing measures which have been implemented.
A main worry for workers in these sectors is the uncertainty it brings – some haven’t been informed if they will even still get paid. The bar worker we spoke with said that while he was aware the bar (where he has worked for many years) would shut, no information was given on pay. When he asked his manager he was told, ‘we’ll have to see what the owners say’. He was later informed that the owners who own multiple profitable bars and clubs had decided to just lay off all the staff without pay.
Families have mortgages, rent and bills to pay – on top of worrying about the effects of COVID-19 on themselves and their families. Being dropped by employers like this brings huge financial pressure on them.
Furthermore, huge numbers of workers are worried not just about this ‘temporary lay off’ but also whether they will have a job to come back to at all. For example, if their employer goes out of business or never re-opens. They also fear that bosses will attempt to use the crisis to re-hire staff on worse terms and conditions as many companies did during the economic crash.
Workplace Safety against COVID-19
The workers from the factory and pharmacy we spoke to were both worried and disgusted at some of the measures which had been implemented in their workplaces. The factory worker said “Currently, on the surface, the measures look good. We're being told to space ourselves out by 2 metres in the Canteen and all other interactions including meetings. Any meetings that can be held over the phone or Skype are to be done that way and anyone who can work from home should do so.” However, while that is all well and good, he said in reality when they go onto the factory floor they are ‘on top of one another’. That’s because “workstations are less than a metre apart, clearly in violation of social distancing guidelines. Also, interfaces with machines are also shared with one another.”
Retail workers and pharmacy workers who are on low-pay and are seen as dispensable by bosses and sections of the elite are now key essential staff to maintain food and medicine supplies. They need to be treated that way and protected at work.
Incredibly, in the pharmacy which our interviewee works at, while they limit the amount of customers allowed in the store at any one time they have not provided the staff with vital protective gear like face masks, which staff are ‘obviously concerned about’.
The pharmacy is overwhelmed at the minute. The worker says that ‘the current situation is exposing the cracks in the system which was never fit for purpose.’ They warn that ‘’our ability to dispense medications is reliant on us actually having the stock, and [we] don’t feel the company are supporting us with this.’’ She warns that unless a change is implemented there could be shortages of everyday items like inhalers.
They say that the pressure on store staff is huge. People are understandably worried about getting often vital medication, but that it is retail staff who are ‘getting the brunt of these patients' anxiety while also experiencing our own anxiety with the volume of prescriptions coming in.’
Both workers report that despite the public health emergency both companies are increasing the pressure on workers. The factory worker said “anyone with slight symptoms is being sent home but production is not slowing down to make up for this”, while the pharmacy worker said there was an “up to 2 hour wait on prescriptions today which puts unbelievable pressure on staff. A constantly ringing phone and messages coming in. This is unsustainable for staff and is already negatively affecting mental health of staff and also potentially physical health.”
Is it any wonder that bosses are still focusing on profits and competition, and not the health of workers? So it was before the coronavirus outbreak and so it will be after. But we don’t have to accept it. Workers in Italy have taken matters into their own hands, going on strike to demand health and safety measures are put into place.
And while the government has made important steps to protect public health overall - closing schools, and shutting down big events - they have so far not taken measures to ensure workplaces are safe for workers and that public health will really be put before profits. The reality of life during this crisis will already be challenging for families, children, and students. The government needs to use all the resources available to ensure workers have the housing, food, supplies, and medicine required to keep up social distancing for several months.
We call for:
Close all non-essential workplaces - develop a plan with trade unions and workers to ensure we have the food, supplies, and medicine needed over the next months
Personal protection equipment (PPE) and training for all essential employees
Protect the mental and physical health of retail workers - reduced work hours with no loss of pay and increased break times for shop workers facing huge queues and increased workload
Full pay to workers - Workers shouldn’t lose a cent of income from this crisis, profitable companies should continue to pay wages. Where this is not financially possible the state should guarantee wages which can be redeemed from profits in the future. Workers must be guaranteed their working conditions and pay rates are at a minimum the same as they were pre-crisis.
Right to housing – immediately ban evictions and suspend all mortgages, rent, and debt payments
End the chaos of the market - Nationalise big industries that deliver public services and bring them under the democratic control of the workers and communities they serve: big pharmaceutical companies, companies that produce medical equipment, PPE and other vital supplies needed to fight COVID-19, banks, insurance companies, community centres and childcare facilities to start.