While many people were able to work at home and take health precautions to avoid catching COVID-19 over the past two years, a University of Wollongong researcher says supermarket workers were among those faced with "an impossible choice".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"For the last few years people who work in supermarkets and hotels have faced a dilemma - go to work and risk catching COVID or stay home and not get paid - an impossible choice for many families," Dr Jane Williams said.
Dr Williams is a chief investigator of a new project that aims to understand how workers managed in the pandemic, and how they think Australia should manage the threat of pandemics in the future.
Researchers are seeking people who worked in supermarkets and quarantine hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another chief investigators of the study Associate Professor Chris Degeling said there had been a focus on doctors, nurses and hospital staff, but less attention on non-health care jobs which kept supermarkets open and quarantine hotels functioning.
"This is an important study because the last three years have shown just how important these jobs are to social functioning but they have previously not been a consideration in pandemic planning," he said. "As a society we have relied on people in some of the lowest paid, least secure jobs to keep food on the shelves and borders open."
"In doing so people who work in supermarkets and hotels have accepted at greater risk of catching a potentially fatal infectious disease and bringing it home to their families - which was certainly not in their job description."
"We now know just how essential these roles are, but these workers have not been specially trained in infection prevention and control, the way that those in a hospital, aged care facility or GP clinic have been."
IN OTHER NEWS:
This project is part of a larger National Health and Medical Research Council funded study examining how best to prepare Australia for future pandemics. The project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Wollongong, Sydney University, and the University of Technology Sydney.
"We are keen to connect with adults who worked in supermarkets and quarantine hotels in 2020 or 2021: any age, any gender, any town or city in NSW," Dr Williams said.
"The interview will take no longer than an hour, can be conducted on the phone or by zoom or we will come to see you at your convenience."
To register interest in being involved in the study or to find out more contact 0416 262 700 or degeling@uow.edu.au.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
