FOR billions of people across the globe, their working life has been changed by the pandemic. In Scotland, while thousands of people have been working from home for months, NHS and social care staff have been on the frontline in dealing with the human cost of the pandemic, and shop workers and logistics workers have been keeping us fed and clothed.
The news that a vaccine is on the horizon will come as a relief to everyone but, for the time being, we must grit our teeth and get to grips with the realities of the pandemic.
While it has brought many new things into our daily lives – daily briefings from government, face masks and social distancing – it has had the effect of speeding up many processes under way for some time.
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Over the past few decades, the world of work has changed drastically. With the collapse of much of the manual and manufacturing industry that sustained the Scottish economy for the 20th century, a new economy, centred on hospitality, services and office work has emerged. Not only have tool belts and shipyards been replaced by laptops and office blocks, but the demographic of the working population has changed too, with women now accounting for nearly half of the workforce.
From the first Labour government of the 1920s through to the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the Labour Party has sought to ensure that workers are protected from industrial injury and that workers who fall ill due through work are properly supported.
Just as lockdown was imposed in response to the pandemic, vital disability and industrial injuries benefits became Scotland’s responsibility, completing the long-awaited devolution of new social security powers. But the process was administrative, and no noticeable change was felt.
Scotland, of course, was locked down. Our key workers, risking their own health, strived to save the ill and to shield our elderly, keep food on supermarket shelves and deliver the supplies for those fortunate to have the safety of staying at home. They faced risks no-one could have imagined just a year ago.
With the arrival of the new powers, we have the opportunity to overhaul industrial injuries and disability benefit to both meet the challenges posed by the pandemic and to meet the needs of our changing working patterns and demographics.
Covid-19 has become one of the most dangerous workplace illnesses we face, and workers across Scotland have contracted the virus through their labours. We have heard of office workers who have contracted the virus and returned to find little has changed in the way of regular cleaning or social distancing in the office. We have heard of transport and retail workers berated by members of the public and even
spat on for doing their job. With the pandemic showing no signs of abating, it is vital Covid-19 is approached as the workplace illness that it is and those suffering from “long Covid” are given the support they need.
NHS staff, too, have found themselves working around the clock in perilous conditions, to keep our overheating NHS from collapse.
It is vital these workers receive the protection and support they deserve.
The support in place for industrial injuries and disabilities has never been perfect. Workers in certain occupations and particular conditions have consistently been overlooked and we know that far too few female workers receive the support they need.
Scientific research and data gaps have frequently been the cause of these omissions, but it has produced perverse results for workers in Scotland. Shipworkers with osteoarthritis, care workers with cervical or lumbar spondylosis, or local authority gardeners affected by hand arm vibration syndrome all fail to have their conditions or roles prescribed. Workers suffering the ongoing consequences of long-Covid could also miss out on support.
It is clear these failings must be overcome if we want to provide the people of Scotland with an employment injuries benefit for the 21st century that is dynamic and reflects modern work. I want to ensure that the next century of workers who become injured or ill in the line of work can turn to a no-blame social security scheme that is retained and strengthened.
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We desperately need industrial injury and disability support fit for the 21st century and the pandemic. It is to this end I have launched a members’ bill to create a Scottish Employment Injuries Council. This body will be made up of workers and their representatives and will be independent of government. The council would be able to conduct research into the inequalities in the current system and make recommendations that would contribute towards a full-scale modernisation of the current system.
I have been in contact with workers, experts and several trade unions, and the feeling is unanimous – we must have change.
The pandemic has changed working life for us all, and has thrown the ingrained inequalities in our workplaces into sharp relief. If we are to ensure the workers who have kept us fed, clothed and safe over the past few months are treated with the respect they deserve, we must bring about a drastic modernisation of the current industrial injuries and disability support system.
We simply cannot turn a blind eye to inequality in the workplace any more. It’s time for change.
Mark Griffin is a Labour MSP for the Central Scotland region.
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