Episode 15 - Kristen and Kyla React to COVID-19

 
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Kristen’s Three Champions

Healthcare Workers and Retirees

Obviously, healthcare workers are at the frontlines of this pandemic, and they deserve our immense gratitude. But I also want to draw attention to the champions who are volunteering to provide surge capacity. Across the country, nurses are volunteering to come out of retirement to help out with the pandemic response. In Ontario, for instance, the Registered Nurses’ Association asked for volunteers to help with the Telehealth information line. As of Monday, 3,000 licenced nurses had volunteered. Provinces are also expediting licensing requirements so that retired physicians and nurses can become licensed and get to work. The expedited licenses are for a constrained time period (four months in Nova Scotia).

Frontline Service Workers, Including Gig Workers

Thank you, grocery store workers and pharmacists. Thank you, warehouse workers and couriers. Thank you to the workers who are keeping utilities, infrastructure, and public transit in operation. Thank you, taxi drivers. We appreciate you.

Trust and Social Solidarity

In a time of global crisis, it is important to be able to look to and trust our public institutions. And it seems like Canadians are able to do that. A poll by the Angus Reid Institute found that Canadians have become much more concerned about COVID19 since early March. Between March 5 and March 13, the proportion of Canadians that see the coronavirus pandemic as a serious threat increased by 26 percent. As of last Friday, 68% see it as a serious threat. That proportion is probably even higher today.

As concern has increased, public trust in institutions and government has also increased. Trust in information coming from health and medical authorities has increased 8 points, to 87%. Trust in information from provincial governments has increased 12 points, to 73%. Trust in information from the federal government has increased 9 points, to 67%.

A poll of eight affected Asian countries found something similar. They documented very high levels of trust in medical professionals.

The flip side of public trust is a commitment to follow rules and guidelines. So far it seems like Canadians are taking that seriously. Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health said today that within hours of Ontario declaring a state of emergency they had 96% compliance with rules closing bars, restaurants, recreational facilities, and private schools.

Kristen’s Three Problems

Economic Rights for Wage Workers

The United Nations estimates that COVID-19 could push 25 million or more workers into unemployment, underemployment, and working poverty. Overall, they estimated that workers stood to lose $3.4 trillion in income by the end of 2020. Just 20% of the work leave taken by low-wage earners in Toronto is paid. Only two provinces (Quebec and PEI) require paid sick leave. So, the decision to allow this really is up to the employer in most cases.

Most retail stores have closed over the past week. Many companies are now offering paid sick leave, but not all of them. And even fewer are offering economic leave (retrenchment benefits) while their physical stores are closed. That poses very real economic challenges for wage workers, even if they have access to Employment Insurance (EI).

Independent Contractors/Gig Workers and COVID-19

Gig workers are the people working generally low wages for gig economy companies like Uber, Lyft, Foodora, and Skip the Dishes. These companies claim that gig workers aren’t their employees, but rather independent contractors – and so they don’t have to provide the same protections that they would for employees. There are some ongoing court cases to challenge this, with some successes. In Ontario, some Uber drivers are trying to join a union (the United Food and Commercial Workers union). But change has been slow.  

COVID-19 has revealed how important gig workers are to our everyday lives and, at the same time, how few social protections they have. Most gig workers don’t have access to government benefits like EI. By definition there is no sick leave or economic leave for these workers.

And at the same time, the demand for many gig workers’ services are up, as people order food and products online to avoid leaving the house. There is some evidence that COVID-19 is accelerating the movement to protect gig workers. Recently, for example, an advocacy group called the Gig Workers Collective formed in the US to advocate for fair pay.

If you aren’t a gig worker, one question you may be asking yourself is: should social distancing include online ordering?

Ordering online increases the risk that deliverers will contract COVID-19. Delivery personnel are at among the highest risk of contracting the virus. Delivery people are braving “a germ-filled world when people of means would rather not.” On the other hand, not ordering hurts workers too because it cuts into their income.

Ethicist Carissa Véliz said the following about the ethics of ordering food online: “Society always relies on a minority of people to carry out risky or unpleasant jobs that not everyone is willing to do. To be ethical, ideally, those people should be paid more than others who have more comfortable jobs.” In the same article, the Guardian also interviewed several couriers for their article, and one of them said: “Whether or not you order won’t change the calculus for workers who have no choice but to do it either way. So, the best you can do is be considerate.”

What you can do to support gig workers during COVID-19:

1.     Treat couriers kindly: be patient with delays, leave a good rating.

2.     Tip especially well, and tip electronically if possible.

3.     Practice social distancing, so it’s safer for them. If you are going to order online, health specialists recommend leaving the food at the door or being at arm’s length from the deliverer.

4.     Convey your ethical concerns to companies. Ask if workers’ jobs are being made as safe as possible and if they can take sick leave. If you decide to boycott, let companies know why.

5.     Try ordering from a local business. Order directly from the restaurant if possible. And if you need books, why not order from a local independent bookshop? Many of them will deliver.

Refugees and Temporary Foreign Workers

With governments around the world closing their borders, what to do about refugees and temporary foreign workers?

When Kristen and Kyla recorded, there was a lot of uncertainty around whether temporary foreign workers (TFW) will be allowed into the country, which could be a big problem for our food system – especially given that March and April are busy months. One idea is to allow TFWs and quarantine them. There are 140,000 TFWs in the Canadian agricultural sector (and that doesn’t include food processing). On March 18, the Government of Canada announced that it would allow TFW and international students to continue entering Canada despite border restrictions. Upon entering Canada, a 14-day quarantine will be applied.

But the pandemic also highlights gaps in access to healthcare for groups like TFWs. TFWs who are part-time or between contracts often don’t have medical coverage in Canada.

Unfortunately, there have been some columnists and Twitter personalities starting to call for the government to turn back asylum seekers, now that the Canada-US border is closed to non-essential travel. (We don’t want to amplify these voices, so we are not linking to them). Thankfully, so far the federal government is not barring irregular asylum seekers.

 

Kyla’s Three Champions

Companies That Shut Their Doors with Paid Leave

There are a number of companies that have voluntarily closed their doors, and are compensating their employees. Some of those include Patagonia, Apple, Indigo, Nike, Urban Outfitters, Lush, and more.

And shout out to the other high-risk places that have been isolating, it’s the right thing to do; ships, prisons, and care homes.

Doctors, Nurses, First Responders

Let’s take care of our healthcare workers while they take care of us. Best practice is to stay home if you can!

Capitalism Grinds to a Halt, the Environment Thanks Us?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/asia/china-pollution-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/coronavirus-shutdowns-have-unintended-climate-benefits-n1161921

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-coronavirus.html

Bonus Champion: Brewdog

Brewery in the UK starts making and distributing hand sanitizer to hospitals.

Kyla’s Three Problems

Panic Buying

Panic is contagious, and herd-mentality sends us down a slippery slope. Oh wow, everyone is buying toilet paper, maybe there’s something they know that I don’t know? Guess I should pick up some extra as well. Which means shortages. Although interestingly, part of the TP shortage is caused by everyone staying home, which means fewer folks needing the industrial TP for offices, schools, and restaurants, and more needing the home-style stuff. This is a disruption in the supply chain for both types of TP, as they are produced by different companies.

Media

There’s been a lot of information sharing regarding the virus, and as with any major story, there is a lot of false information floating around. Please check your sources! Memes are not a source of news! This gets me too, from time to time. You see a meme that says something that sounds like it could be right, and it’s easy to believe it. This is how I thought sneezing wasn’t a symptom of Coronavirus, when it actually is. And this is how the toilet paper panic buying started. This is important! We highly recommend getting your news from the CBC.

Vulnerable Workers Left Hanging

https://globalnews.ca/news/6659997/coronavirus-ei-sickness-benefits/

https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/how-labour-policy-in-both-canada-and-the-u-s-affects-the-spread-of-coronavirus/