Workers concerned over stability of jobs as a result of COVID-19 – unions
Both the General Workers’ Union and the UHM – Voice of the Workers told The Malta Independent on Sunday that many employees are concerned over the stability of their jobs due to the daily number of COVID-19 cases being registered.
This newsroom spoke with UHM – Voice of the Workers CEO Josef Vella and GWU Secretary General Josef Bugeja about workers and their workplace in light of the current COVID-19 situation.
Vella said that as a Union, the UHM is receiving several concerns from workers in different sectors.
“I cannot say that this has not become the norm due to the Coronavirus. We have many workers who are worried about the situation since the daily registered cases are increasing at a very high rate,” Vella said.
He said that the concerns brought to UHM vary, precisely because they come from people in different sectors and from different individual situations.
“Workers who are considered vulnerable are worried about contracting the virus, which in their case may result in further medical complications.”
Vella said that “these are the people who we prioritise and worry about the most as their situation is rather delicate. In order to protect them, we are issuing a directive which allows them to work from home and adjust accordingly in order to keep everyone as safe as possible”.
“It goes without saying that although we try our best to help each and every individual, unfortunately, it is not possible for each and every vulnerable employee to work from home due to the nature of their work which might require them to be present at their place of employment.”
“As a Union, we try our utmost to reach a general agreement for workers, as it is impossible to address each and every individual case.”
Apart from concerns raised by vulnerable workers, “we also receive a substantial amount of phone calls from parents, who are asked to physically be present at their place of work, even though their job can be done remotely from home”.
Both GWU Secretary General Bugeja and UHM CEO Vella stated that many parents are concerned about whether schools will open in September for a new scholastic year and if not, question how they will be able to balance work and family responsibilities.
This concern has become more prominent now as the number of active cases is currently soaring. Vella added that “many parents are also concerned about where to leave their children while they are at work, since they fear exposing them to higher risk when sending them to childcare centres or summer schools”.
“If the situation remains the same and uncontrolled, many parents will not be ready to send their children to school in September,” Vella said.
On Thursday, the UHM – Voice of the Workers appealed to government to allow those employees working in the public service and public sector to be given the opportunity to work remotely where possible and encourage proper risk assessment at the workplace for those who cannot benefit from this measure. There is concern among many workers. Thus, working through telework will serve as a precaution to reduce face-to-face contact. This will also reduce the number of employees in the same workplace. UHM stressed that government must ensure that a risk assessment is carried out in order to safeguard their health and safety at work for those who are not able to telework.
In reaction to the appeal made by UHM, the Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary said that teleworking within the public sector was never removed or halted, and the public service remains a leader in achieving a good work-life balance. While the respective directives, which were issued in March were repealed, the direction remained for telework to continue and to be made available, the office said.
Vella continued by saying that “with such a situation we need to be pro-active and take the necessary measures in a timely manner in order for these precautions to be effective, as well as to reduce the number of Coronavirus active cases as much as possible”.
“I hope that this time round, the situation is not taken lightly and is not downplayed in any way. Although we won the first battle against the Coronavirus in our country, in comparison, we are losing the second battle as before we managed to keep the numbers much lower,” Vella said.
Asked about whether the Union is concerned with the economic situation within workplaces, Vella said that “the economic aspect cannot be separated from the COVID-19 situation as surely, this will affect our economic productivity”.
“We do recognize that this is a very difficult situation for everyone, and it is not easy to figure out the right equation and make things work smoothly because it is a fluid scenario which changes from one day to another,” he said.
“Having said that, halting COVID19 measures or introducing them in an untimely manner does not equate to more productivity, but creates further ramifications,” he emphasised.
Vella stressed that the importance of telework in this circumstance is not to find work-life balance but to reduce unnecessary exposure and controlling the number of COVID19 cases.
Bugeja said that “as a Union we are very much concerned by the whole situation, both from the medical aspect as well as about the economic impact in every workplace”.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic the whole structure of the General Workers’ Union is focused on assessing and assisting each and every workplace,” he said.
“As the situation is continuously evolving, together with our employers, we are working in order to prevent the virus from spreading and to safeguard employment as much as possible,” Bugeja said.
He said that with regards to “the medical aspect, this entails a number of safety procedures including the separation of duties and shifts, the division of duties, the allocation of separate working spaces, different entrances and exits. Another aspect that we are working on with employers relates to the mental health of employees as such a situation might cause certain distress”.
He added that the Union is also assessing the economic impact on different sectors of the economy. “Initially, our members were concerned with the medical side of things but now they are more concerned about the stability of their jobs.”
“We continuously engage with each employer to discuss their economic position and their future scenario. Following such meetings, we disseminate such information with shop stewards and members. This will help us to plan different measures to prevent redundancies and plan for the recovery.”
A major concern experienced by all stakeholders surrounds what is going to happen next.
Bugeja questioned: “Is this situation going to continue for long? Is there a chance that a vaccine will be found? Are people going to start travelling again? When is tourism going to start picking up?”
He said that “since most of our work organisations are export-oriented, they are also concerned about the situation within foreign markets”.
“Since the introduction of the government vouchers, the economy, especially in the hospitality and all related sectors, started picking up again. Unfortunately, the latest increase in active cases is once again threatening all our efforts,” he said.
He reiterated that “our members are very much concerned and have been so since the very beginning”.
Bugeja said that in most workplaces measures regarding prevention remained in place since March. “Most of our shop stewards are involved in the drawing up and implementation of these measures. The majority of these shop stewards and our members responded with great responsibility towards creating a safer environment in every workplace.”