Guest : Vuka Chonco | Provincial Secretary at Food And Allied Workers Unions
The coronavirus pandemic has cultivated a growing appreciation for people who work
in grocery stores (like Pick n Pay, Checkers, Woolworths) pharmacies, fast food
joints and meat plants.
Laborers who were once considered unskilled are now “essential employees,” even
heroes to some, because they are providing the nation with food and other crucial
supplies at a time when the risk of infection is acute.
How employers and public health officials protect these workers has become a critical
issue during the outbreak. Some workers’ rights advocates fear that safety standards are
eroding at a time when they should be strengthened.
As fast-food chains start opening across the country, amid the coronavirus outbreak,
many workers feel as though they are putting their lives at risk by going to work.