Workers of world unite
Around the world, workers defied all science and authorities, choosing to voice a myriad of demands on May Day celebrated on Friday.
In Hong Kong, police used teargas against a group singing and chanting pro-democracy songs, regardless of the threat of coronavirus that has wreaked havoc in China in the first quarter of this year. In Istanbul, Turkey and Berlin, Germany, workers defied authorities’ injunctions for workers not to stage crowded protests. The need to be heard preceded health considerations.
But it was in the US where nurses’ cries were not only the saddest, but also resonated with many others around the world. The nurses demanded more personal protective equipment, noting that “nurses signed up to care for their patients. They did not sign up to sacrifice their lives on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Their silent protest against Donald Trump, arguably the most ignorant of global leaders wrestling with Covid-19 that has killed many, found receptive ears across the globe. This is because it is not only unfair, but arguably criminal to expect health workers to sacrifice their lives in negligent circumstances. Yet, when a patient arrives at the hospital in the throes of pain, writhing helplessly, our healthcare professionals are not expected to look the other way.
There was never a more appropriate time for the clarion call “workers of the world unite” than now. That unity is essential to ensure workers force their employers, their governments and private hospitals to do the very best in acquiring whatever help possible. That unity is required to navigate the “new economic normal” post-covid-19 to ensure they are not left worse off – again.
In SA, the very fact that our economy is sliding further into junk status will require workers to unite even more. Anxiety about job security abounds, as does the corona. Around the world, workers will need to rise to the occasion not only to protect their rights, but to contribute solutions to companies facing unprecedented challenges.