Structural Discrimination In COVID-19 Workplace Protections

Yearby, Ruqaiijah; Mohapatra, Seema

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3614092

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…From extraordinary levels of food waste caused by supply chain disruptions, to sharply rising levels of food insecurity, to widespread injury and death resulting from exposure to the pandemic amongst highly exploited food system workers, to the origins of the virus itself linked in part to the global grain-livestock and factory farming complex, COVID-19 is a 'wake-up call for the food system. ' [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75] More broadly, the negligence with which governments in Europe, Britain and the United States handled the pandemic, leading to high rates of infection and death that would have been preventable had public health, rather than economic activity, been prioritised, led the British Medical Journal to accuse those in charge of 'social murder. ' 76 It is important to note that while the burden of suffering in 2020 fell disproportionately on low-income sectors and people of colour, with as many as 500 million more people falling into poverty, the world's billionaires experienced a bonanza year, with their collective wealth increasing by nearly $4 trillion.…”

Section: Part 2: Framing and Understanding The Crisis: Exponential Growth Or The Cancer Stage Of Capitalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

From the Cancer Stage of Capitalism to the Political Principle of the Common: The Social Immune Response of "Food as Commons"

Rose

2021

Int J Health Policy Manag

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Background: Critical scholars agree that contemporary globalised and industrialised food systems are in profound and deepening crises; and that these systems are generative of accelerating multiple crises in the earth’s life systems. Why and how did we arrive at this point? This paper argues that, conceiving each individual human as one cell in the greater human body, we are afflicted by what John McMurtry termed ‘the cancer stage of capitalism.’ This provocative framing is adopted here in response to growing calls by climate, earth and physical scientists not to ‘mince words’ in the description and analysis of humanity’s current predicament, but rather ‘tell it like it is.’ Methods: Proceeding from McMurtry’s application of the seven defining medical properties of a ‘cancer invasion [of] an individual organism’ to the broader body politic and the earth’s life system, this paper draws on literature from diverse disciplines to investigate the fundamental cause of food systems crises. The paper references several empirical studies and meta-reviews that indicate the hastening decline in the integrity of human and ecological health, with a particular focus on the grain-oilseed-livestock complex and the accompanying social and ecological impacts on the southern cone countries of South America. Results: The cause of food system crises is to be found in the core logic of capital accumulation, the profit imperative, and the relentless and expanding processes of commodification and financialization. The key metric of ‘economic growth’ is problematised and discussed. An embryonic ‘social immune response’ is now observable, in the diverse practices of de-commodification, proposals for de-growth and commoning that together constitute an emerging ‘food as a commons’ movement. Conclusion: As currently framed, the Food as Commons proposal lacks coherence, rigour and a viable strategy to move beyond the current crisis. Its transformative potential can be strengthened through a more explicitly political grounding based on appeals to and support of anti- and post-capitalist movements and initiatives.

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Section: Part 2: Framing and Understanding The Crisis: Exponential Growth Or The Cancer Stage Of Capitalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

From the Cancer Stage of Capitalism to the Political Principle of the Common: The Social Immune Response of "Food as Commons"

Rose

2021

Int J Health Policy Manag

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“…Some workers, especially healthcare professional and other essential workers, risk their health by working in an unsafe and hazardous working environment. According to Yearby and Mohapatra (2020), the law is this context structural discriminate against this set of workers, classifying them under essential workers, while their health and that of their families are at risk of being infected by COVID-19. Thus, the laws are used to the disadvantage of those in elite and influential positions, while disadvantaged to the powerless workers.…”

Section: Covid-19 and Workplace Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and the World of Work Dynamics: A Critical Review

Agba

Ocheni

Agba

2020

JESR

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COVID-19 has a profound impact on the world of work globally. It has altered the social fabric of the workplace and significantly accounts for the loss of normalcy in the world of work. As this threat continues, this paper sought to critically review the impact of COVID-19 on specific areas of the world of work. The study established the link between nCov and global loss of jobs. It critically examined how COVID-19 impacts on teleworking, occupational safety and health, workers mental health, discrimination, physical and social distancing at the workplace. Overwhelmingly, the paper concluded that COVID-19 exacerbates existing cracks in the world of work and its sustainability affects workers’ mental health, social relations, escalate discrimination and unemployment globally. The study suggested policy reforms as global remediation to the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the world of work.

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“…The most hazardous work often comes with weak workplace protections, exacerbating structural Art. XX, page 2 of 13 Mulvaney et al: Pandemic disruptions in energy and the environment discrimination with the lack of paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, or affordable health care and childcare services (Yearby and Mohapatra, 2020). Miners already burdened with pulmonary disease from particulate matter exposures in mines have tested positive for coronavirus (Kuykendall, 2020).…”

Section: Exposing Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic disruptions in energy and the environment

Busby

Bazilian

2020

Elem Sci Anth

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Public health measures implemented during the coronavirus pandemic have had significant global impacts on energy systems. Some changes may be ephemeral: as industries go back to work and supply chains relink once production resumes, energy use and emissions have and will continue to rebound. Some may be more durable, such as reductions in commuter and business travel and increases in teleworking. The crisis has exposed the persistent vulnerability of communities of color and those living in poverty, as well as highlighting weaknesses in just-in-time production systems and inequities of supply chains. The social and policy response to the societal impacts of the coronavirus crisis will affect energy systems and the environment in complex and dynamic ways over the long run. Strategic policy responses by nations, communities, organizations, and individuals could go a long way toward reshaping energy systems and impacts on communities and the environment. Here, we highlight themes for continued investigation and research into socioecological interactions between the Great Lockdown and pathways for recovery with a focus on energy systems and the environment.

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Structural Discrimination In COVID-19 Workplace Protections

Cited by 21 publications

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From the Cancer Stage of Capitalism to the Political Principle of the Common: The Social Immune Response of "Food as Commons"

From the Cancer Stage of Capitalism to the Political Principle of the Common: The Social Immune Response of "Food as Commons"

COVID-19 and the World of Work Dynamics: A Critical Review

Pandemic disruptions in energy and the environment

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