On a dark, chilly morning on Melbourne’s urban fringe, Dani McFarlane is getting ready to leave for work at a busy childcare centre. And she’s feeling scared.
Key points:
- Ms McFarlane is one of millions of Australian workers in essential industries who cannot work from home
- An economist is calling for a universal entitlement of sick leave to stop the pandemic from widening worker inequalities
- Some fear the burden of caring duties among those working remotely is disproportionately falling to women, affecting their jobs
“Obviously, social distancing doesn’t happen there,” she said.
“You can’t change the nappies from 2 metres away. You can’t hug them from 2 metres away. They’re going to cry, they’re going to be upset — you need to comfort them.”
Ms McFarlane is one of the millions of Australian workers in essential industries who don’t have the option of working from home.
Instead, she spends her days caring for the children of other essential workers — including staff from the large hospital nearby.
“I think the community has done little bits, mainly for emergency services. But I also think they don’t see the little people — like the supermarket workers, and in the takeaway places that have lost so much money. And us.”
Six weeks into the biggest shakeup of the Australian workplace since World War II, a divide is emerging.
It’s between people who can work from home, who are more likely to be safer and better off, and those who can’t — lik