As we think of physical distancing + social solidarity, a thread on things that those of us with economic resources should consider personally doing right away.
Let’s take stock of the workers whose labour run our homes as we “work from home” because we can. (1/10).
Let’s take stock of the workers whose labour run our homes as we “work from home” because we can. (1/10).
For domestic workers, offer paid leave. If you can’t, offer full pay for reduced hours. If you can’t, offer a bonus to privatise their transport to your homes. If nothing else, offer a bonus of an extra month’s income. (2/10).
For those who collect waste from our homes, reduce collection days as much as you can without
cutting costs so they can reduce their labour and the need to go from home to home, thereby reducing their exposure. (3/10).
cutting costs so they can reduce their labour and the need to go from home to home, thereby reducing their exposure. (3/10).
For folks who iron clothes, stop/reduce frequency but pay upfront what a usual monthly payment would be. For regular repair workers, electricians etc we may call less to keep “distancing,” offer one time payments for forgone work whether or not you do that work later. (4/10).
For delivery workers, tip in cash as much as you can and give generously. Share food and supply stocks as you bulk order, and help other families prepare as you are doing yourself. Buy locally, from vendors, and small establishments, as much as you can. (5/10).
If you live in an apartment society, speak to your service and management teams, ask for safety precautions to be made available and negotiate reduced workloads without pay cuts. (6/10).
In short: don’t withdraw income and payments but reduce services as much as possible. Supplement income and access to supplies as much as you can. Free up people's time so they can self-care. Pass it on. (7/10).
Soon, we will have to collectively think about wage compensation for workers who cannot afford to “work from home,” who work in our homes, and in public spaces. This majority of urban workers cannot afford to withdraw their labour. That’s also a curve we have to flatten. (8/10).
When the stimulus comes for airlines, IT firms, restaurants and theatres, we must argue for boosts to household consumption+ supplements to lost income/wages in the informal economy + increased public spending on social services, public distribution. (9/10).
“Social distancing” must be buffered with an equivalent solidarity. Post this, we must return not to this “normal” but to something more just, humane, and ecologically viable. Let's plant some seeds now into these cracks in our patterns so the light may perhaps enter. (10/10).
