The institution betrayed workers through the epidemic – work

It seems that the epidemic is finally coming to an end, and the picture left for the victims of the Swedish people is that we are “forced” to work from home.

At least this is the media picture.

In fact, casualties were significantly greater among workers who were unable to work from home, for example among transport workers who moved home all desks whose height could be adjusted so that white-collar workers could work from home.

Add to that groups of drivers, hotel and restaurant staff and an incredible number of assistant nurses and care staff, and we have the most vulnerable during the pandemic that we hope is now over.

But the official in front of the computer was always the favorite character of the media when the epidemic epidemics were to be depicted.

symbolic extinction

As many as 90,000 articles were written in 2020 and 2021 about what it means to work from home, According to a compilation by Kantar Public which was ordered by LO.

Only 40,000 articles have been written about the risk of infection in their workplace for all others, especially about health care workers.

The difference also increased during the course of the pandemic. During the second half of 2021, four times more was written about homework. This is despite the fact that 50 percent of Swedes are working class and despite the fact that 93 percent of LO members cannot work from home.

Unfortunately, this distortion is rife in the Swedish media even when it is not an epidemic.

Survey Katalys . think tank presents Only 11 percent of all those who appeared on news, social and entertainment programs on television between 2015 and 2018 were working class.

The fact that the working class is invisible in the media leads to its value, its specific problems, its demands for change and its invisible culture.

This is what media researchers call “symbolic extinction”.

During the pandemic, this symbolic extinction became more and more apparent.

Smaller in the wallet and harder to work

According to a report from the National Institute of Public Health, which covers the first catastrophic months in spring 2020, cleaners were the occupational category most affected by the virus.

But how many disturbing articles have we read about the exceptional situation of cleaners during these terrible months?

Hand in heart, hardly anyone.

If we look at the relative risk, that is, the number of cases relative to the number of people active in the profession, three other occupational groups appear at the top according to the Swedish Public Health Agency’s report. There are taxi drivers, pizza bakers, bus and tram drivers.

But the media focused on those who worked at home.

What occupational groups have been most affected by COVID-19?

Although we should not underestimate the psychological stress of not being able to meet with co-workers only via computer, 93 percent of LO members unable to work at home were also mainly affected here. Working class women were the hardest hit From such consequences as a decrease in income, layoffs or, conversely, an increase in the workload.

Despite the fact that the Swedish Public Health Agency’s report showed the highest level of infection among those who cannot work at home, the agency itself hardly included this knowledge in its advice.

The assistant nurse may not work at home

Those who had the opportunity to be seated bound by the frequent press conferences at 14:00 only heard the advice to work from home. The few times we’ve heard the counter-question about what those who can’t work at home should do, the authority has answered that these people (half of the Swedes they talk about) should change their working hours and avoid rush hours.

It is a good answer to the daily handle that shows great ignorance of the working conditions of LO members.

A construction worker cannot postpone construction to avoid rush hour, nor can a auxiliary nurse ignore retirees’ need for home care to avoid rush hour.

What we should have heard were demands for the introduction of safe transportation, a sharp increase in the frequency of buses and other demands on regions and municipalities to ensure transportation for those who cannot work at home.

The pandemic has exposed a great deal of ignorance about half of Sweden’s population. Unfortunately, the media has not recovered itself from the “symbolic extinction” of workers that we saw flourishing during its pandemic years.