- Interview by
- Sukanya Ananth
Victoria’s second coronavirus wave has revealed a stark pattern. Outbreaks have occurred in meatworks in Gelong, in Melbourne’s north and southwest, and across the state. Clusters have emerged in food and liquor warehouses servicing major retailers, among cleaners and security guards and, tragically, in residential aged-care facilities across the state. Schools and hospitals, particularly in lower-income suburbs, have also been hit.
COVID-19 has exploited existing weakness, taking hold in workplaces where precariousness, labor hire, and casual work are endemic. Where workers lack sick leave, where union power is low, or where employers rely disproportionately on hyperexploited migrant labor, the second wave has made headway. Many of these employers failed to provide workers with safe working conditions or adequate PPE (personal protective equipment). Some refused to reorganize rosters or the shop floor to minimize exposure between shifts.
These employers were already obsessed with maximizing profit and productivity — it’s little wonder their workplaces have been the main vector of transmission in Victoria’s second wave of the coronavirus. By disregarding workers’ health — and that of their families and communities — these employers have reduced labor to the status of just another objective factor of production, like equipment or raw materials. This is why COVID-19 has become a “plague of the working classes.”
In this context, at twelve different workplaces, members of the United Workers Union (UWU) have taken action. Confronted with growing numbers of confirmed cases on site, they fought for strong safety standards. One such workplace is the Spotless Laundry in Dandenong, which launders and processes linen from Melbourne’s major health care and aged-care facilities — including those with active COVID-19 outbreaks.
On Saturday, July 25, the workers at Spotless were informed of a positive case. Instead of implementing controls to stop the virus, management insisted on keeping the site open. By Wednesday, July 29, there were two additional cases and a total of three sick workers. It was at this point that the predominantly migrant workforce took matters into their own hands, ceasing work and refusing to return until all workers had been stood down with pay, so they could be tested.
The walkout lasted two days. It was a challenge to all employers who would dare to place profitability over the health of their workforce, and an act of defiance against insecure working conditions that added to the workers’ vulnerability. After two days, Spotless backed down, conceding to the workers’ demands.
Gurinder Singh and Douglas Chol (note: the names of these two union activists have been changed to protect them from harassment) are two UWU activists at Spotless who helped to lead the action. Sukanya Ananth, an official with the UWU, spoke to them about how the action was organized and how it has served to build workers’ power — power that was wielded to take greater control, strengthening safety at work.
The Link LonkSeptember 06, 2020 at 12:29AM
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/melbourne-spotless-laundry-walkout-covid-coronavirus
Melbourne's Spotless Laundry Workers Went on Strike to Stop COVID-19 - Jacobin magazine
https://news.google.com/search?q=Laundry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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