COVID-19 and Essential Workers
To what extent should essential workers be forced to come into work? This is a question that has been on my mind during these stressful times. In my opinion, workers should not be forced to go into work if someone they live with or themselves are at high-risk for the virus, or if their workplace is not taking proper precautions and is infringing on their safety rights. Further, these workers should not be punished for not going into work and be compensated for unemployment. As the whole world hides out, Covid-19 has put an immense pressure on front line essential workers who must continue to work and potentially expose themselves and their families to the virus every day. Workplaces have come up with new measures in order to ensure the safety of their workers, however, some environments have struggled to take proper safety precautions. One of these work environments is construction.
Construction has been deemed essential if it pertains to: “projects and services associated with the health care sector, including new facilities, expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space. Projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance. Construction work and services, including demolition services, in the industrial, commercial, institutional and residential sectors. Construction work and services that support health and safety environmental rehabilitation projects” (Ontario Government, 2020).
This means that a huge portion of construction workers are still hard at work and considered essential. The construction sites are a concern for two reasons, the lack of social distancing and the lack of proper sanitization capacities (National Post, 2020). Construction usually requires multiple workers to be in close proximity to each other and to work in soiled environments. If workers are not at a minimum of six feet apart, the virus could easily be transmitted to all workers who will then take it home to their families. Many have raised concerns and are constantly in a state of anxiety that the virus will be brought home to elder or vulnerable family members (National Post, 2020). Further, the lack of proper sanitization facilities means that workers cannot practise safe handwashing. This results in an increased risk of getting covid-19, as workers may touch their faces or eat their lunch with virus covered hands. Workers are also worried about speaking out, in the fear of losing their jobs or being reprimanded; with all the stress they are currently under, they should not have to worry about unemployment. Workers should not be punished for seeking safe working conditions to which they are rightfully entitled to. This issue is not only a concern for the workers’ physical health but also their mental health. Being in a constant state of fear for themselves, their loved ones and their financial stability puts a huge strain on their mental state.
Recently, unions and labour workers have pushed for inspections of construction sites in order to ensure safe working conditions (Bogdan, 2020). They have threatened to shut down any sites that do not meet the requirements of the Ministry of Labor. Further, Premier Doug Ford has made a statement ensuring the government will support these workers if they choose to leave unsafe sites (Bogdan, 2020). Although this is a good step in the right direction, more needs to be done such as giving workers the right to choose whether they come to work or not amidst this crisis, even if the safety concerns are resolved. This will help reduce the levels of stress for workers vulnerable to the virus or with family memebers vulnerable to the virus. This pandemic is a serious concern and must be treated as such.
#EMPR200
Work Cited:
Bogdan, Sawyer. “Ontario Union Raises Safety Concerns for Construction Workers amid COVID-19.” 980 CFPL, Global News, 28 Mar. 2020, globalnews.ca/news/6746054/union-safety-concerns-construction-covid-19/.
Ontario Government. “List of Essential Workplaces.” Ontario.ca, www.ontario.ca/page/list-essential-workplaces#section-8.
Staff, National Post. “COVID-19: ‘We’re All Breathing on Each Other’ Says Toronto Construction Worker, Slamming Job Site.” National Post, 26 Mar. 2020, nationalpost.com/news/canada/covid-19-were-all-breathing-on-each-other-says-toronto-construction-worker-slamming-unsafe-site.
Gabrielle 