Thursday, March 18, 2021

Health or the Economy?

Unions can help achieve the balance we need between protecting lives and livelihoods

By Dennis Perrin, Prairies Director

In this pandemic season that we still find ourselves in, an interesting debate rages on. Where will our societies and more specifically our governments put their focus—on slowing the spread of COVID or on preserving and protecting economy?

I have watched this debate with some amusement. Don’t get me wrong. By amusement I don’t mean that we’ve found ourselves in some sort of twisted sitcom. Perhaps perplexment is the better word.

When governments appear slow to act in their response to the COVID pandemic, they are often accused of valuing the economy over lives. That side of the debate would most likely argue that the sooner we get COVID under control the sooner we get our economies back on track.

The word economy comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which means the management of the household. The household in question is the system in which we all live, including the totality of all the resources that we require to live and to thrive. More broadly, it can be understood as the management and distribution of goods and services in society.

The health-versus-economy debate is really misplaced and unhelpful, in my opinion. Like much of current politics, it attempts to set up two extreme positions. Of course we all want good health, and this debate makes it appear that the economy is bad, that it threatens good health.

That position might make sense if I assume that the economy is simply about amassing more wealth. There is no doubt that some people attempt to exploit parts of the economy for their own personal gain.

But understood more broadly, a healthy economy is necessary for our individual and collective health. They are really two sides of the same coin.

An unhealthy economy usually means more people without jobs or underemployed. More people without jobs means more people without the means to provide for their everyday needs—the ability to buy food, clothing, and other necessities and pay the rent or mortgage.

As unemployment increases, other aspects of people’s physical and mental health suffer. Relationships break down. Spousal and child abuse increase. Substance abuse increases. These consequences represent curves of their own that may take years to flatten even well after the pandemic is brought under control.

COVID-19 is unquestionably serious. It has taken so much from us, and there is no doubt that we have to keep doing our part to protect lives and slow the spread so that our hospitals and care homes are not overwhelmed. Healthcare workers need all the support they can get from us as we work to get this deadly virus under control.

These are complex matters but addressing them with an either-or approach—health or the economy—is not helpful. Unions like CLAC have an opportunity to speak to this complexity. Although solutions are not always clear or easy, unions as worker advocates are in a position to engage with management to protect their members’ health and well-being while at the same time working to sustain viable workplaces. This ensures their members have safe, gainful employment which in turn sustains our economy.

Unions are perfectly situated to help achieve the balance we need between protecting lives and livelihoods. They can and should be advocating for well-paid work that is both safe and satisfying.

As we journey through the weeks and months ahead, much will continue to remain uncertain. But what is certain is that CLAC will not relent in its pursuit of safe and healthy workplaces—workplaces that contribute to healthy economies and healthy people.

Health or the Economy?

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