The Maldives Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and its affiliates say the government must rapidly address the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, urging passage of occupational safety and health and labor legislation and an economic stimulus package targeted to protect jobs and income security of the island nation’s most vulnerable workers.
“All actions and policies must prioritize and protect worker rights and ensure decent work for all, with the inclusion of the migrant worker population in the country. Further, policies must be developed in consultation with trade union and employer organizations,” MTUC says in a statement.
With its population spread across 188 islands, Maldives is highly dependent upon travel and tourism, which has been hard hit in the coronavirus crisis, and workers are suffering the brunt of the impact. More than 11,000 resort workers, including migrant workers, are on unpaid leave or have received pay cuts while undocumented migrant workers were forced to leave the resort islands and are trapped in the capital, Malé, unable to return home.
Union Leader Targeted with COVID-19 as Cover
Union activists say the government issued contradictory regulations in a scramble to keep the resorts operating. With rapidly changing regulations, Ibrahim Ziyad, branch leader of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM), was arrested and detained last month after returning to work for violating coronavirus travel restrictions. He was fired a day after being arrested, a move seen by TEAM as an act of retaliation for his union activities, which have paved the way for safe working conditions for employees.
Ziyad, who has since been released, still faces a six month jail sentence because charges have not been dropped.
A staff member at JA Manafaru, a five-star luxury resort in the North of Maldives, Ziyad was asked to go on annual leave by management following an announcement by the Maldives Health Protection Agency (MHPA) of a new 14-day travel restriction to combat the spread of COVID-19. Ziyad departed to his island of residence, HA Kelaa on March 14 (a day before implementation of the restriction), planning to return to work later on. While the MHPA announcement mentioned restrictions on travel between inhabited islands, it allowed for resort employees to travel between their homes and their workplaces.
Upon completion of his annual leave, Ziyad returned to the resort and was admitted by hotel security. Unaware of a further notice by the MHPA that restricted all forms of travel, which was circulated internally to hotel staff on March 18, Ziyad was visited in his quarters by the human resources manager and resort doctor who said that he was in violation of MHPA orders and would have to remain in isolation pending the resort doctor’s clearance.
The following evening Ziyad was arrested by police and sentenced to a 15-day prison term pending investigations. He was terminated from employment a day later.
On March 25, the MHPA issued a new notice allowing resort employees to travel between resorts for employment and on holidays.
Sabina, a domestic worker from Bangladesh, has worked in Jordan for the past eight years, sending money home each month to her mother, sister and 11-year-old son who rely on her to survive. But with the COVID-19 crisis, she has been out of work for more than a month.
Sabina, a migrant worker from Bangladesh in Jordan, had no food to eat after being without work due to COVID-19. Photo courtesy Sabina
“I haven’t eaten for five days,” she said. And neither has her son or family.
At least one-third of the 75,000 migrant domestic in Jordan have lost their incomes and in some cases, their jobs—a scenario repeated around the world as migrant workers, who often work in poverty-level jobs in countries that offer no legal protections or afford them safety nets such as unemployment pay are left stranded during the pandemic.
Some countries like Jordan even make it difficult for migrant workers to receive private contributions, with donations required to be coordinated through the Ministry of Social Development. Organizations such as the Alliance Against Violence and Harassment created a low-profile initiative to distribute packages to migrant workers, especially undocumented migrant workers who are most likely to be without employment now, by coordinating with private donors who provide food and other necessities.
Labor activists around the world report that migrant workers are sharing similar experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Although they pick our food and clean our houses, migrants and refugees are disproportionately vulnerable to exclusion, stigma and discrimination, particularly when undocumented. More than 200 million migrant workers live and work in other countries, supporting another 800 million family members in their origin countries.
“The coronavirus is blind to borders, citizenship and migration status,” a global coalition comprising dozens of civil society organizations, including the Solidarity Center, say in a statement. “To save lives, public officials must take the lead in respecting non-discrimination and ensuring equal treatment for all, regardless of migration status.” The Solidarity Center also has joined its partners, the Women Migration Network and a coalition led by the Migrant Forum in Asia, in urging governments and employers to uphold the rights of migrant workers.
With the COVID-19 crisis, many are trapped in their destination countries, unable to return home because of closed borders or lack of money to pay for the trip. Often they are trapped by legal restrictions such as the kafala system, which ties workers to a single employer in many Gulf countries. Some are sent to crowded detention camps, where the coronavirus could rapidly spread. Others are forced to live and work in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, picking produce, manufacturing “essential” products, cleaning shops or laboring in construction. They are left out of government support measures, without pay, access to health services or even food.
Unions and their allies are elevating the rights of migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis, providing direct assistance even as they push for government recognition and support for those without jobs. They are negotiating with employers to provide masks, gloves and other safety gear, and are providing migrant workers with information on taking steps to protect themselves and their families. Below is a snapshot reported by Solidarity Center staff working with unions around the globe.
The Alliance Against Violence & Harassment in Jordan, a Solidarity Center partner, is demanding the government grant migrant workers legal residency during COVID-19, as many permits will expire during lockdown. The Alliance is also urging the government to grant assistance to migrant workers, who have little or no pay but cannot return to their country of origin. The Alliance also asks for safety gear for migrant workers still on the job. The domestic workers solidarity network in Jordan shares information on COVID-19 and its impact on workers in multiple languages on its Facebook page.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan, a Solidarity Center partner, converted a hotel it owns into a field hospital for nearly 200 migrant workers who returned from other countries and were ordered into quarantine. Union members provided food and care for the returned workers. Kyrgyzstan migrant workers provide more than one-third of the country’s GDP in money they send home. The Solidarity Center, in coalition with labor and human rights groups, is gathering information on worker rights abuses throughout Central Asia, including migrant worker exploitation.
In Bangladesh, BOMSA, a migrant rights NGO, created COVID awareness-raising leaflets specifically for migrant domestic workers returning to Bangladesh from abroad. Members are distributing soap, disinfectant and other cleaning supplies, and encouraging workers to maintain social distance. Another migrant rights NGO, WARBE-DF, is distributing COVID-19 awareness-raising leaflets to returned migrant workers and their communities; and as thousands of migrant workers return, the organization is engaging in local government coronavirus response committees to ensure inclusion of migrant-specific responses. Both are longtime Solidarity Center partners.
Many migrant workers do not cross borders, but travel from rural villages to cities seeking employment. In Bangladesh’s Konbari area, garment workers who are internal migrants are not eligible for relief aid, which relies on voting lists for distribution. The Solidarity Center-supported Worker Center is connecting with local government officials and has provided nearly 200 names for relief, and is fielding more calls from internal migrant workers seeking assistance.
Across Tunisia, unions and civil society organizations have joined to collect and distribute in-kind donations to assist migrant workers. The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) is among civil society organizations, Parliament members and other public leaders urging the government step up protection of migrants and refugees in Tunisia to ensure their right to health is guaranteed in the same way as all Tunisians. The group also called on the government to examine alternatives to detention of refugees and migrants who are vulnerable to disease and stranded in the El Ouardia and Ben Guerdan centers.
The UGTT defends all citizens and migrant workers, says UGTT spokesperson Sami Al-Tahiri.
“We are all human beings, irrespective of gender, race or religion. Diversity does not negate the unity of humanity across the world.”
In Sri Lanka, where borders closed March 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented an online portal, Contact Sri Lanka, so migrant workers could register and be connected with embassies in the countries where they work. Some 17,000 registered last week, more than 6,000 of whom are working in Gulf countries. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait is making travel documents available online so migrant workers will not need to apply for them in person.
Kuwait has offered an amnesty period through April enabling migrant workers without documents to travel home, and the Kuwait Trade Union Federation is urging the government to quickly address migrant workers basic needs, including facilitating access to health care. The workers are now housed in 12 shelters until travel arrangements are made.
Solidarity Center partner, Turkmen.News, produced a widely distributed video on migration, the coronavirus and state indifference to their plight.
The National Health Workers Union of Liberia (NAHWUL) warns that healthcare workers and other citizens are at increased risk as President George Weah’s increasingly unpopular administration continues to shed public-sector jobs—including 448 healthcare workers last month—even as the COVID-19 pandemic gathers steam. As of April 5, 2020, Liberia is reporting 13 confirmed cases and three deaths, which NAHWUL says includes one healthcare worker’s confirmed diagnosis and the death of another.
“This is no time to reduce medical capacity, especially during a global pandemic,” said NAHWUL Assistant Secretary-General, Deemi T. Dearzrua, adding that the union is concerned not only about the livelihoods of its members and their dependents, but the lives of citizens needing medical care.
NAHWUL reports that 448 of its members—or almost 4 percent of the union’s membership—last month were forced to leave their jobs and accept a pension without the legally-required notice period and even though they did not meet the criteria for forced retirement. Under the law governing public sector workers in Liberia, workers are entitled to three-months’ notice and are not eligible for compulsory retirement until age 65 or completion of 25 years’ service. Those who lost their jobs include doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
“Nobody knew the jobs were gone until our pensioned-off members called to inquire about their unpaid February pay,” said Dearzrua, adding that the union needs government to communicate with NAHWUL about changes affecting its members.
NAHWUL says the capacity of its remaining members is also at risk because they are being expected to report for work without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), training on how to safely treat contagious patients or government-provided COVID-19 information. During the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, Liberia lost 8 percent of its doctors, nurses and midwives to Ebola. A 2015 WHO survey found that healthcare workers in three West Africa countries were between 21 times and 32 times more likely to be infected with Ebola than people in the general population.
The Liberian government has not paid many public-sector workers’ February and March salaries, including those of healthcare workers, whose salaries were reduced last year under a so-called wage harmonization program. The salary-reduction program, which the government claims was necessitated by loan conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), last year led to strikes by teachers, healthcare workers and others.
In Liberia, the Solidarity Center supports NAHWUL’s advocacy for bargaining rights, conducts basic trade union training for its members and educates healthcare women workers about gender issues and their rights.
More than four out of five people (81 percent) in the global workforce of 3.3 billion are currently affected by full or partial workplace closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 1.25 billion workers are employed in the sectors identified as being at high risk of “drastic and devastating” increases in layoffs and reductions in wages and working hours, according to a new International Labor Organization (ILO) report. Many are in low-paid, low-skilled jobs, where a sudden loss of income is devastating.
At the same time, workers still on the job—nurses, retail workers, miners and transport employees—are facing employers who refuse to provide gloves, masks and other safety gear needed to protect against the virus. Unions across the globe are stepping into the breach, negotiating pay and benefits for furloughed and laidoff workers and demanding employers step up to protect workers who are risking their lives on the front lines of the crisis. Below is a sample of union action, reported in large part by Solidarity Center staff working with our union and worker association partners around the world.
MHPU members don safety gear before volunteering at the National Emergency Operation Center. Credit: MHPU
For more than a month, members of the Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU) have worked their formal shifts, then began volunteering at the National Emergency Operation Center, which addresses issues related to COVID-19.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan, civil society organizations and foundations throughout Kyrgyzstan are coordinating volunteer activities and created a database to assist medical institutions, law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Emergencies to implement workplace disinfection and risk prevention plans; staff the country’s COVID-19 hotline; and deliver materials to doctors, the elderly and other high-priority or at-risk groups. At the Khaidarkan mercury plant, the union committee negotiated funds for fabric to make masks, and so far have sewn more than 2,000. The federation and many unions are transferring one day’s worth of salaries to a government fund for addressing the coronavirus, which includes providing essential protective gear for health workers.
The South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU)reached an agreement with employers to guarantee six weeks full pay for 80,000 workers as the country goes into lockdown, and establish a rapid response task team to manage day-to-day issues.
As courts and clinics close due to COVID-19, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), a Solidarity Center partner, is demanding that facilities stay open to address domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence as police received some 87,000 reports of domestic violence in the first week of mandated social isolation. The government also must “increase the number of mobile clinics, both for COVID-19 testing and for treating victims for gender-based violence in all regions of the country with a special focus on vulnerable areas such as densely populated townships and informal settlements,” the federation says in a statement. Mobile clinics should include staff or other health workers specially trained in handling and managing gender-based violence.
In Brazil, the Sorocaba garment workers unionsuccessfully negotiated with employers 15 days paid vacation for around 1,000 workers, with no layoffs, and the General Workers’ Union (UGT) published an information brochure for workers on taking safety measures to protect against COVID-19.
The Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS)successfully stood up against efforts by the government to dock by 65 percent the pay of healthcare workers in Niš who were exposed to coronavirus and required to quarantine. CATUS also is highlighting for workers the government’s guidelines for telework, including requirements to define work time and for employers to take measures such as sanitation, staggered shifts and physical distancing for workers still on the job. More than 2,500 workers at the Fiat Chrysler plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, will receive 65 percent of their salary while the plant closes, after CATUS and the UGS Nezavisnost union negotiated the pay with the employers and government, according to union leader Zoran Markovic.
The Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CATUBiH) issued an informational brochure to members on securing their rights on the job during the pandemic. The confederation also has also opened a phone line that workers can call for consultations or advice on workplace rights.
Unions throughout Morocco are negotiating wage guarantees and other measures to safeguard the livelihoods of the tens of thousands of workers in the country’s hospitality industry—cooks, wait staff, hotel cleaners, tour operators—who have been furloughed or lost their jobs as travel and tourism shut down due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“Workers in the tourism sector have suffered from this pandemic, as the tourism season had just begun in a number of regions, and the infections led to mass cancellations even before the government of Morocco introduced containment measures at a national level,” says Naima Hilali, a staff member of the hotel union affiliated with the Union of Moroccan Workers (UMT) who works at Hotel Lulido in Casablanca. “The hospitality sector will face a massive challenge in recovering for many months or up to a year after the crisis.”
Backed by the UMT, workers say they will not take unpaid “holidays” during furloughs and are demanding a three-month wage guarantee until June. Unions also are negotiating three-months’ wages for temporary and seasonal workers and are assisting laid-of workers employed by subcontracting agencies in getting necessary documents to qualify for a $200 monthly support payment from Morocco’s social security fund. Some subcontractors have not submitted documents needed for workers to benefit from the fund, created for private-sector workers who lose their jobs due to the coronavirus.
“The very strict requirements of collecting unemployment benefits means that many workers will not benefit from the allowances,” says Mohamed Aji, union general secretary at Hotel Farah.
Unions Advance Safety Guidelines for Workers
Unions also are negotiating with employers to ensure safety measures are in place for workers still on the job and are reaching out to workers with information on protecting themselves against the coronavirus.
“UMT shop stewards have taken measures to sensitize workers on the necessary precautions and health measures developed by the Ministry of Health,” says Zakaria Himer, general secretary of the union at Hotel Sofitel. “Other measures include adopting work rotation to reduce the number of workers at the workplace, and giving priority to people with immunity diseases.”
Travel and tourism contributed some seven percent of Morocco’s GDP in 2018, and the likely long-term closure of hotels, restaurants and tour operating companies across the country mean workers will need considerable support for many months.
“The government is making a significant effort through establishing the fund, but this solution does not respond adequately to the massive needs of workers,” says Hilali. “This requires a social and legal strategy to support the workers and employers in the sector. So, we demand the state and public officials to intervene to rescue the sector and its workers.”
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