COVID-19 and Solidarity: a Wish List of Government Measures in the Time of Crisis

Crisis must not be an excuse for discrimination and injustice. On the contrary, solidarity is our weapon during these difficult times.

by Daiva Repečkaitė

Image by geralt / Pixabay (colorised)

 

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]lobally as well as locally, COVID-19 has overtaken the news headlines. Although the focus is primarily on the number of infected persons and deaths, this pandemic is affecting societies in various ways, further exacerbating precarious living conditions of the most economically and physically vulnerable persons.

Crisis must not be an excuse for discrimination and injustice. On the contrary, solidarity is our weapon during these difficult times. Here is a wish list of government measures to be taken ASAP:

 

Housing

Immediate eviction ban. This is not a time to sleep on friends’ couches, spend days in a garage, see agents and desperately look for a new home. As the lockdown is tightening, nobody should be left without a home. 

Only defer mortgage payments for individuals whose mortgages are for their primary residence. When individuals have taken up mortgages for rental investments and the latter are finished and functional, the government could cover the mortgage payments provided that the residence can be used to house individuals who cannot self-isolate at home, or doctors and other healthcare workers who cannot come home to their families for fear of infecting them.

Offer hostels and cheap hotels payment for using their premises as shelters for individuals fleeing domestic violence and asylum seekers who currently live in overcrowded conditions.

 

 

Workers Rights and Employment

 

Immediately issue a requirement for companies employing delivery staff to provide generous sick leave and full health insurance.

Offer delivery companies tax incentives to deliver produce directly from farmers and fisherfolk, cutting as many intermediaries as possible.

The assistance to businesses should be an interest-free loan rather than a subsidy. It should remain interest-free as long as the company retains its staff. 

To all the healthcare workers from non-EU countries at the frontlines of Malta’s combat with the virus, issue one-year unconditional residence permits, full health insurance, and a state pension in whichever country they choose to retire.

 

 

Statements like Silvio Schembri’s about chucking non-EU workers out as soon as they lose their job are extremely counterproductive as these workers need to be reassured and encouraged to do their best in their vital jobs, and general solidarity needs to be fostered more than ever in these difficult times.

All migrants with qualifications in healthcare should be invited to sign up for a reserve list, and a procedure should be improved to fast-track them into occupations in healthcare based on practical skills, even if they can’t write an essay about Shakespeare to pass the IELTS test.

 

 

Higher Tax for Online Gambling Companies

It’s time for online gambling (so-called iGaming) companies to make a contribution to the society that is commensurate with their prominence, in the form of higher taxation and voluntary contributions. Invite them to pay to a voluntary welfare fund and/ or offer support in kind, for example, open their powerful servers up to schools that now have to teach online.

 

 

Sharing Information and Mitigating Risks of Contagion

Issue and clearly communicate a temporary amnesty on all sex workers and their pimps, informing ‘massage parlours’ and strip clubs that no sex worker who wants to get tested or suspects that a client could have been infected will be interrogated about their employer or their visa status. That said, they should be given an opportunity to be transferred to a place of safety and guided on exiting the industry if they choose so.

The communication should be in multiple languages, avoiding legalese and favouring clear, plain explanations.

Boost inspection of construction sites and increase fines for neglect of health and safety regulations. For maximum performance amid a pandemic, the healthcare system needs as few accidents as possible.

 

 

Ensure that in all fields where work from home is not possible workplace safety is provided, now including the hygiene and distance measures required during the pandemic.  

 

 

Protect Our Lungs?

 

For once, stop chopping down Malta’s few remaining trees.