Words that caught me: E is for 'Essential Work'
COVID
has given us all a eureka moment,
And a
new meaning,
To a common English phrase.
Finally,
We have all seen what ‘Essential Work’ is,
And
who ‘Essential Workers’ are.
What
is so astounding about this,
Is how Invisible
These jobs and workers have been – until now.
Here’s
a little dirty secret…
We
have a global economy where capital,
And
its intermediaries,
Seem
like they rule the world;
Followed
closely, by a gazillion army of bureaucrats,
And
their C-suit brothers and sisters.
Whenever
we talk of careers today,
We
tend to think in terms of
Work
that will bring in tones of money;
And
for some time now,
That
work has either been money-dealing (finance),
Or a big
slice in the bureaucratic pecking order (executives).
We
are all jostling for the same, but few positions, available.
And
the futility of all of us becoming fabulously wealthy –
As opposed
to sufficiently catered for and happy -
Has
left many disappointed, frustrated and gasping for air.
COVID
has finally settled this debate
In
the most decisive manner (or has it?)
Essential
Work, we now have seen with our own eyes,
Is
work that is essential for sustaining society;
And
that work, we now know, is Care Work –
Not capital,
or mere accumulation of it, or mere production.
DavidGraeber uses a cup to illustrate this point –
That
we produce a cup only once,
But we
wash it a thousand times over.
That
washing is care work –
It
maintains and keeps the cup performing its function for its full life.
It’s
the same with our society –
There
are jobs whose role is to maintain
And
keep our society functioning as a HUMAN SOCIETY.
It’s
important to capitalize these words
Because
we often forget,
That
the moment society stops being HUMAN,
Then
it also starts losing its meaning and efficacy.
And
that’s, arguably, is the biggest challenge we face
With
our world, today!
It’s
very disturbing that,
Although
care work is essential to sustaining our society,
It’s also,
arguably, the most invisible,
Unappreciated
and underpaid work.
Who
would have thought that the ambulance driver,
The
delivery truck driver, the supermarket attendant,
The park/playground
attendant, the postman, the repair man,
The
guard, the teacher, the farmer,
The house-help,
the care-giver, the seamstress, the shop-floor worker,
The social
care worker, the doctor and the nurse…
Would
emerge as the core workforce that would
sustain society,
While we are marooned at home?
These
are the unsung heroes and heroines,
Who
have been ‘washing the cup’ for society, for eons,
In a
thousand different ways and places,
All,
in quiet service.
They
are, arguably, the most neglected workers in public policy today -
Looked
down upon, poorly paid,
And,
often, working under horrid conditions.
If you are a care worker,
Or have a parent or sibling in care work,
Then you know and understand their love and dedication,
And also their struggles and pains.
Is it
any wonder, therefore, that most of the labour strikes and tensions
Take
place in care related work?
Is it
any wonder that there’re fewer and fewer
Young
people interested in this type of work, these days?
Is it
any wonder that we are an increasingly depressed lot –
Having
stripped ourselves out of essential care work,
That
connects and sustains society, and makes us human?
Is it
any wonder that calls for Universal Basic Income
Are growing louder and louder?
Is it any wonder that the preposterous (and still growing) income disparity
Has become such a heated debate in the world today?
How
is it, that with all the increases in wealth,
Productivity,
and technological know-how,
We
still have essential workers who cannot afford decent housing,
Or healthcare,
or good education for their children?
There
must be a loose nut somewhere in this economic engine!
Indeed,
David Graeber, writing in Bull Shit Jobs,
Has
observed a bizarre aspect in our economic structure –
That
the more your job benefits society, the less you are paid for it.
Care
workers have been shouting and yelling about this for ages,
But
we have, instead, chosen to turn a deaf ear for the greasy pole,
That
a majority of us are guaranteed to never climb.
Now
that COVID has opened our eyes,
What will
we do with our newly-found knowledge?
How
long will we let this disparity and indignity go on?
For
how long will care workers remain invisible and under-appreciated?
For
how long will we continue to demand their quiet service
While
taking it for granted, without return or appreciation?
For
how long will be continue short-changing our children?
For
how much longer?
*'Covid-stion' is a series of questions we will be posing in the next couple of weeks, inspired by our own reflection of 'lessons learnt' from COVID-19. The questions are meant to invite self-reflection.
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