Working during Covid-19?
Added 2020-04-09 14:56:54 +0000 UTCThis week on #EvenMoreNews we want to hear from listeners who are working during Covid-19. How you're treated, how you treat yourself, how to help, etc. Heartwarming or bleak, dealer's choice!
You can either post here or DM us.
Comments
Hi, I'm an investment banker from Germany. I work from home. It's fine, really. But I'll take this opportunity to sketch out a little bit the general workers experience over here. First, we already had a couple of things in place that really helped like healthcare, payed sick leave, legal protections from getting fired and unemployment benefits that secure 60% of your wage for 18 months and some money to secure your basic needs indefinitely thereafter. So we didn't need to establish those things and pull a new administrative body out of our asses while being in the midst of a crisis. In addition, we have short term labor schemes. That means if your employer just doesn't have anything to do for you, he can reduce work-time and the state will pay you 60% of the wage you lost. So let's say you are on 50%, that you will get 50% of your wage and 60% of the 50% you lost, so you'll end up with 80% of your normal wage. Employers are allowed to give you some on top and many do. So in total a lot of people get 90% of their normal wage, even if they work 50% or less of their usual hours. It is still hard for those people working for small businesses like restaurant or clothing stores. We are trying to keep those businesses from bankruptcy, but for obvious reasons it is easier for to save 10 companies with several thousand employers than thousands of businesses with 10 employees, just considering the paperwork needed. Of course our news are trying to shed light on those who are really having a hard time, but most people they find are artist from Berlin who are self employed and have a hard time finding gigs. That is unfortunate, but compared to the problems and anxiety you are experiencing it still seems to be the more moderate problem to have. In conclusion, two things: One, our economy will probably recover more quickly than your's, just because people will still have money and there will be a lot of demand for basically everything as soon as this is over. Two, it is very possible to pay for all of this. The state is at the moment able to lend money at an interest of MINUS 0.45%. And while some benefits, especially for people and small businesses will not be payed back, those loans and capital increases for larger companies will be and with a profit. It kinda drives my nuts how the US is discussing the possibility of thing that have been established for decades and work pretty well in several countries around the world. It just seems so ridiculous.(Side note: pls tell Robert Evens to get patreon. I love listing to his Women's War series and really want to support him)
Percy
2020-04-13 11:15:58 +0000 UTCI am extremely lucky that I am an essential worker during this pandemic - I am a paramedic working at a mine site in a remote town in Australia. With even domestic flights being restricted, my usual two weeks on/two weeks off, Fly in-Fly out schedule has gone out the window, and I now work every day, 12 hours a day, living out of a motel. This is great for my savings, but probably not ideal for my long term mental health. One benefit of working so much is that it doesn't give me time to dwell on the fact that my girlfriend is stuck on the other side of the world (she is a Canadian Citizen) and we have no way of getting to each other, and probably wont for many months to come. As a medical professional, I am frustrated by some of the practices I am seeing from other workers at the mine site. Security has begun to test everyone's temperature at the start of every day, however fever is a late sign of infection, and people can be infecting others well before this. I feel like the temperature screening is giving people a false sense of security. I also see the security guards doing the screening wear the same pair of gloves all day without washing their hands, potentially becoming vectors for disease transmission themselves. I've tried to explain to them the importance of washing their hands regularly, but they haven't been given enough gloves to change them often. I've tried to have them not wear gloves, and just wash their hands after each person, but apparently the perception of being protected is more important. I am very luck. I have a job, I have a place to live, and I have something to keep my mind of the worst parts of this, but overall I am ready for this to be over.
Daniel van Raders
2020-04-12 21:34:28 +0000 UTC
