COVID-19 disaster, worldwide news

This 29 April 2020 video from England says about itself:

Body bags protest as construction workers raise call to “Shut The Sites”

Shut The Sites blockade the London headquarters of construction giant MACE, whose CEO – Mark Reynolds – is a spokesperson for the Construction Leadership Council.

The CLC has just shockingly announced that construction needs to stay open and social distancing for coronavirus can be ignored for up to 15 minutes at a time, if a job cannot be carried out by one person alone. This watering down of official guidelines for building sites will pass on the infection to their family members and send hundreds to their deaths.

No construction worker wants to put their family at risk, but they also need to pay their rent, which is why the electrician, bricklayer, carpenter, engineer and union safety rep who participated in the direct action also called on the government to pay every worker, irrespective of whether they are a direct employee, self-employed or an agency worker.

Shut The Sites activist went on to blockade a nearby Laing O’Rourke’s building site, sending a clear message to the CLC, major contractors and the government – if you don’t shut down construction and keep people safe, then workers are going to do it themselves.

The protest took place of 28th April – International Workers Memorial Day. The global Day of Action by unions over deaths in the workplace. The slogan for #IWMD20 is “Mourn the Dead – Fight for the Living”. So after the protest, the construction workers paid their respects to their fellow workers who had died at the bronze ‘Building Worker’ statue at Tower Hill in London.

Note: A full risk assessment was carried out prior to the action, full PPE was provided and control measures were put in place to reduce transmission of COVID-19.

BBC Panorama exposes government responsibility for UK health worker deaths. By Thomas Scripps, 29 April 2020. Using documents from within the NHS supply chain, the investigation rips apart ministers’ claims to have provided 1 billion items of personal protective equipment in the last two months.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain, 29 April 2020:

Dulux will reopen decorating centres and risk lives workers warn

DULUX workers have accused the company of reopening decorating centres before it is safe to do so, forcing non-essential staff to work or take unpaid leave.

The Morning Star was contacted by outraged workers at the paint company, whose stores will be reopening on May 4.

All staff had been initially furloughed until June 24 and then asked to take a week of annual leave.

COVID-19 infection at sporting fixtures underscores criminality of Johnson government’s herd immunity policy. By Barry Mason, 29 April 2020. It was only due to growing opposition that the government was forced to impose a lockdown. But much of the damage had already been done, as evidenced by its allowing three sporting events to take place.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain, 29 April 2020:

Struggling Scottish artists facing ‘real hardship’

CORONAVIRUS could be the “final straw” for thousands of artists in Scotland who were already struggling to make ends meet before the outbreak, a union warned today.

Many artists are falling through the cracks of the government’s provisions during the lockdown as they are not eligible for welfare benefits, small business grants or furlough payments, Scottish Artists Union (SAU) said.

This has left many of them facing “real hardship,” seeing their incomes collapse while still having to pay rent for their homes as well as studio spaces.
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By Peter Lazenby in Britain, 29 April 2020:

GMB angry with ‘heartless and immoral’ Asos

ASOS was accused today of planning to make hundreds of call centre workers redundant and to transfer jobs overseas.

General union GMB said that the online fashion retailer was to cut 300 jobs at its Leavesden site in Hertfordshire while moving work to the Philippines and other countries with cheaper labour.

The union said that workers were receiving letters announcing the redundancies.

Coronavirus pandemic surges across South Asia, even as governments push for a return to work. By our correspondents, 29 April 2020. The response of South Asia’s governments to the pandemic underscores the contempt of the national bourgeoisie for the lives of hundreds of millions of working people and rural toilers.

Jaffna health workers complain of poor facilities as pandemic spreads in Sri Lanka. By Subash Somachandran, 29 April 2020. Health workers in northern Sri Lanka insist that the insufficiency of tests and shortcomings of health facilities has made the province vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quebec government threatens thousands of lives with precipitous return to work. By Richard Dufour, 29 April 2020. Quebec Premier François Legault has announced the reopening of the province’s elementary schools and daycares.

This 28 April 2020 video from the USA says about itself:

This Is What Happens When You Participate In Anti-Lockdown Protests

Stupid is as stupid does. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

“A leader of an anti-lockdown protest group in North Carolina says that she has tested positive for COVID-19 — and she’s angry that she was forced to quarantine for two weeks to avoid spreading the virus to other people.

Local news station CBS 17 reports that Audrey Whitlock, a leader of the ReOpen NC protest movement, posted on Facebook this week that she has been under quarantine for the past two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19.”

Australian schools reopening as spearhead of “back to work” campaign. By Sue Phillips and Oscar Grenfell, 29 April 2020. State and federal governments are invoking dubious research to insist it is safe for teachers and students to return to schools.

Australian health workers infected with COVID-19 but governments cover up full picture. By Margaret Rees, 29 April 2020. Even according to the officially-reported cases, Melbourne’s health system is one of the worst-affected in Australia.