what are the challenges faced by you buring covid-19
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Answer:
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC, shares her thoughts on the exceptional challenges facing the world's workers.
A lack of access to healthcare and paid sick leave are among the concerns.
Job losses are set to exceed predictions of 25 million worlwide.
Making sure that sick people get the care they need and don't infect others is crucial to containing COVID-19 - but the majority of the world's workers have little choice about putting in a shift, even if they feel unwell.
This is one of the worrying findings of a survey released by the International Trade Union Congress, which surveyed its members in 86 countries around the world to monitor government and employer responses to the pandemic.
According to the study, only 21% of countries are providing sick leave for all or some workers. The countries polled represent a swathe of the world's most powerful economies, including 28 out of 36 OECD countries and fifteen G20 countries.
Reflecting the severity of the situation, over half of all countries surveyed (53%) were containing the spread of the coronavirus with national lock-down measures such as the closure of schools and non-essential businesses.
This unprecedented situation is sending shockwaves through the world of work. To soften the blow, governments were most likely to opt for the five policies below, according to the ITUC:
Provision of free health care - 50% of countries
Employment protection for those self-isolating - 34% of countries
Tax relief for businesses - 31% of countries
Paid sick leave for a period of self-isolation - 29% of countries
Bailout funds for business or sectors - 29% of countries
To find out more about the exceptional challenges facing workers, and how both businesses and governments can best safeguard livelihoods, I spoke to Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC.