Kia ora koutou, its good to be on level one and I’m mulling over what I should do to celebrate. Even though the lockdowns have meant some inconvenience, very little really in terms of what others have had to put up with, there’s still a difference in the air today.
My neighbourhood is busier as it gets back to normal – whatever that is – more people walking and biking, people on mobility scooters, I need to be very careful coming out the driveway. There are more cars on the road. Lots of happy toots as someone sees a friend.
Jobs are going though, many more people will be trying for the few that are offered, many will have to move to where the jobs are. I feel very sorry for the people concerned and of course it shifts the balance between employers and workers. It mean employers have all the power and that a worker might have to put up with bad conditions simply because they can’t afford not to work. I put up with a couple of bad employers many years ago when I was cleaning simply to keep my then husband’s job. The day I left that last place was one of the happiest days of my life. My employer was untidy, left stuff everywhere, didn’t do a tap of housework in between times. She never washed a pot or pan, everything elsde went in the dishwasher, and she expected me to get a two story house done in two and a half hours (including ironing) – a really sweet person. Well, that’s what I was told.
However, it was good for me. It made me think about power and no–power and often the difference in these two states is the one where there’s an employer holding the power simply because there’s an employee wanting the work eg needing the money.
There’s been an increase in whistleblowers talking about workplace bullying and harassment over the last two or three years – I wonder if, under these new circumstances – people, often women, will just tolerate poor conditions because they need the money at the end of the week? Even if the money’s not that great its better than nothing, better than going into MSD.
I am sorry for small businesses too for whom surviving in these times has not been easy and I’ve made a decision to do the best I can to support local ones. We need them and they need us.
So, Whanau, see what you can do on a daily basis to help them out. Even if you just buy two bran muffins, a pie, a flat white or a lamington, it all helps. And we all know – everything’s better with a lamington. With cream of course.
Renée
