The Pandemic Has Hit a World Which Was Already in Deep Trouble

Abstract

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed gross failures in national and global governance, with governments failing to heed the warnings from scientists over many years about pandemic risk, and when the virus began to spread, the lack of preparedness in most governments was staggering. Many businesses lacking financial reserves, including global brands in the textiles and other sectors, simply cancelled contracts leaving millions of workers destitute. The impact of the pandemic across so many economic sectors is destroying jobs in the hundreds of millions and wrecking the livelihoods of more than 1.5 billion people who rely on informal economic activity for survival. Its economic impacts are falling disproportionately on women, and a whole generation of young people are experiencing disruption of their education and training, and the likelihood of a struggle to find a decent job as they enter the workforce. The pandemic has hit a world where social, climate and economic fault lines were already evident, and these fault lines tell us much about the severity of the impacts, particularly on the poorest and most marginalised. The most recent ITUC Global Poll1, covering 16 countries with more than half the world’s population and conducted in the weeks prior to the WHO declaring a pandemic, reveals the extent of the fractures in the international economy. Most alarmingly, it shows the extent of the global wages slump, with 75 percent of people saying that their income had stagnated or fallen behind. The Poll gives a stark insight into a precarious world filled with anxiety about work and a lack of trust in government. More than two-thirds of people say they are worried about climate change (69 percent), rising inequality (69 percent), the misuse of personal data online (69 percent) and people losing their jobs (67 percent). These worries come at a time in 2020 when one in two people (52 percent) rate their own country’s economic situation as bad. People are feeling powerless, with two out of three (66 percent) people across the countries surveyed saying that people like them do not have enough influence on the global economy. Almost as many (63 percent) believe working people have too little influence. In contrast, the majority of people believe that the richest 1 percent (65 percent) and corporate interests (57 percent) have too much influence. These opinions culminate in the view held by almost three-quarters (71 percent) of people that their country’s economic system favours the wealthy. This view is held by the majority of people in every country surveyed and shows the widespread breakdown of the social contract. The poll shows deep levels of uncertainty about family income and job security and people’s feelings of a loss of control over their work and pay: • Almost half (42 percent) of people think it is unlikely the next generation will find a decent job. • Over one-third (39 percent) have directly experienced unemployment or reduced working hours in the last two years, or someone in their household has experienced this. • Three quarters (76 percent) say the minimum wage is not enough to live on. • A third (33 percent) of people have experienced less control over their choice of decent work. • More than one in four (28 percent) have less control over the hours they work. Violations of Workers’ Rights at a 7-Year High and Getting Worse The despair people feel is spilling over and resulting in a massive loss of trust in democracy as an institution. One out of every three people are angry or despairing when asked about how they felt about their government listening to them and the needs of their family. While nationalist sentiment, racism, malicious use of social media and various other factors contribute to the feelings of insecurity, for an understanding of the root causes of people’s pessimism and growing disconnection, it is instructive to look at the results of the Annual Global Rights Index of the ITUC published in June2. The Index documents a seven-year trend of increasing violations of workers’ rights. This trend, by governments and employers, to restrict the rights of workers through limiting...