A symposium on the experiences of essential workers during COVID-19 was held in UCD last week. The event built on a survey by the Nevin Economic Research Institute(NERI), which looked at how the pandemic impacted essential workers.

The event addressed which jobs were deemed ‘essential’, the workers’ experiences, and the impact COVID-19 had on them. It also tackled the questions of how the State has served these workers since and what could be improved.

One of the main takeaways from the survey was the gendered impact of COVID-19 on essential workers. 45% of female essential workers experienced a high risk of exposure compared to 28% of male workers.

The other result of note was that those with union representation felt their concerns about workplace safety were addressed more than those without. The EU directive on collective bargaining was cited as one way to increase this type of protection, in preparation for future similar crises.

The INMO’s General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, spoke on the gendered impact of the pandemic on essential workers, as well the experiences of migrant healthcare staff, who often lacked family for childcare and other supports. She also spoke about the narrowness of how we view healthcare in Ireland, saying “The funding of the health service should be seen as an investment in keeping people well.”

The symposium also heard from Dr Tony Holohan, former Chief Medical Officer. Speaking at the event he said: “During the pandemic, we were all in it together, or at least we should have been. Today shows us that we have some way to go on this.” He touched on issues from migration to climate change, and on the need to holistically measure our success and not solely focus on economic measures such as GDP.

The full report from NERI can be found here.

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