Curbing the Spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Workers' Organizing for Solutions Remains Key
- Pierre Chénier - 
As the spread of COVID-19 results in higher numbers of
infections, hospitalizations and deaths, it has become clearer than
ever that workers organizing to push forward their demands and
solutions is key to curbing the spread and stabilizing the situation,
especially in the health care system. Workers speaking out and
organizing to protect
everybody, including themselves, as they deliver the services people
need is essential in affirming social solidarity of all for the
well-being of all. It is also only through this work and struggle that
working people can force those in authority to take up their
responsibility of protecting the people.
It is a tragic fact of life that after nearly 11 months of the
pandemic, safe working conditions for frontline workers have not yet
been achieved. Workers' demands for such basic things as adequate
personal protective equipment that they themselves determine is needed
based on their experience and public health standards have not
been universally met. Some health and safety measures are in place in some
workplaces but not others, according to random criteria decided by
unknown parties.
 Governments
and employers are looking for alternative sites where various health
services that do not require full-fledged hospitals can be delivered.
However, without adequate personnel and mobilization of the human
factor to sort out the issues of safety, training, maintenance, and all
issues related to the success of such projects, they will
come up against the same problems they are already responsible for
creating. Hoping that by mobilizing the armed forces to deliver
vaccines will guarantee efficiency is pie in the sky given the lack of
interest in putting human beings at the centre of social organization.
These projects can only be built with the pro-social aim of looking
after the well-being of all. This is where the fight is the most acute.
Workers are taking initiatives to lead the people in solving the crisis
in a manner that benefits the people and society but matters are not
under their control. Ruling elites continue to put forward schemes
which
they announce by decree such as curfews and fines no matter what
violations of workers' rights they entail.
Only by the workers mobilizing themselves, starting with the
organized collectives of workers, youth, women, Indigenous peoples,
community organizations and so on, can they exercise some sort of
control over what happens.
At this time there is discussion in Quebec about requisitioning
private surgery rooms and their staff to integrate them into the public
sector during the crisis so that they can do important surgeries that
are being postponed because of COVID-19, alleviating the situation in
the hospitals. There is no doubt that marshalling resources to face the
crisis has to be done but this requires the full mobilization of the
workers and medical authorities and others to ensure that it is done
safely. Health care workers told Workers' Forum
that this is an avenue that could help alleviate the pressure on the
health care system, provided that utmost care is taken to ensure that
this is done safely and
that it does not mean the expansion of private health care. They say
this is intended as a temporary measure to address the crisis.
In Ontario and other provinces, governments are talking of plans to
open up more hospital beds, temporary field hospitals, and other ways
to expand the system. But without addressing the demands of the workers
for increased staff and improved working conditions this will
exacerbate, not solve, the health care crisis.
This article was published in
Number 1 - February 2, 2021
Article Link:
Curbing the Spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Workers' Organizing for Solutions Remains Key - Pierre Chénier
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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