Coronavirus has become a plague on the poor around the world

The highest number of victims of the coronavirus in all countries of the world are low-income and disadvantaged groups such as workers, minorities and women. The economic restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have already destroyed 300 million jobs.

Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is gradually becoming a plague, the most victims of which are low-income and deprived segments of society.

The fate of a Romanian seasonal agricultural harvest worker who came to Germany in May to work and contracted the coronavirus due to the lack of health facilities in his place of residence and subsequently died is not much different from hundreds of millions of Indian, Chinese, Afghan or other workers in other countries around the world.

These workers are now not only struggling with livelihood problems, but they have also brought the coronavirus with them to the most deprived parts of the world.

In China, for example, migrant workers who returned home from Wuhan for the Chinese New Year in February spread the coronavirus to the remotest parts of the country. The country has 280 million migrant workers, many of whom were laid off as restaurants and construction sites closed.

Many of these workers do not have health insurance and are not eligible for government assistance. Those who are finding work again these days are forced to accept much lower wages.

In India, the lockdown, which was extended until Sunday, May 31, has displaced millions of migrant workers and deprived them of their livelihoods. An estimated 20 million people have returned to their cities and villages since the lockdown began. Many have died of hunger and exhaustion on the way. Those who have reached their destinations may have brought the coronavirus with them to deprived areas.

Afghanistan has also witnessed an outbreak of the coronavirus, especially in areas bordering Iran, since the return of thousands of its migrant workers from Iran.

The same is true in rich countries.

The lack of hospital services and healthcare is affecting the underprivileged not only in China and India and Afghanistan, but also in the rich countries of the world. In the UK and the US, the death rate from Covid-19 among minorities is significantly higher than among whites. People of colour in these countries often have a history of other diseases in their medical records and are more likely to work in low-paid and difficult jobs.

The International Labor Organization estimates that economic restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus have already destroyed 300 million jobs worldwide. These jobs were often in low-skilled groups. Apart from seasonal workers, young people, and especially women, have been hit hardest by these restrictions.

The International Labor Organization says about 11 percent of all working hours worldwide were lost in the second quarter of 2020, and unemployment rates have risen among young people aged 16 to 24. Unemployment rates in this age group were already above average before the coronavirus pandemic.

Many of these workers have been working in low-income informal jobs in local markets, without contracts or social security. Young women working in the tourism industry or in hotels and restaurants have been the most affected.

Guy Radeder, the director of the International Labor Organization, told DW that serious measures must be taken to get these young people back into the workforce once the coronavirus pandemic is contained. He points to vocational training programs with job guarantees as one of these measures, which could prevent a generation from being lost to the labor market.

Many migrant and seasonal workers are also young people of this generation in countries that cannot afford state support. The poorer a country becomes, the larger the informal labor market – jobs without insurance or social services – becomes.

“Six out of ten people in the world work and earn their living in this informal market,” says Ryder. These are also the people who have suffered the most from the coronavirus worldwide.

Source: DW