Why have we not heard complaining fro people working in private sector?

[mywayhighway]

You’d think the only people working at the moment were public sector. DH and I have luckily worked throughout the lockdown, DH is in construction, they have cracked on and found a way around every Covid19 related issue quietly and without fuss. Exactly the same in my workplace (manufacturing). Mainly it’s not rocket science. You don’t hear complaints from supermarket staff or smaller shops keepers.
I’m getting increasingly angry at sectors refusing to get back to work and it’s always public sector jobs where they have big unions and guaranteed wages and no threat of being laid off. Things need to dramatically change, people need to accept the risks and get back to work or hand their notice in. Schools are a prime example and next it’s going to be NHS therapies. Can’t they see they’re refusing to do their job is ultimately going to cause more deaths and have a much detrimental impact than Covid19 long term? Why are public sector workers so special?

If you can't work out how to manage that, take a look at what they're doing in other countries. And then crack on.

But we won’t be doing what other countries are doing. My friend is a teacher in China. She and her students must wear masks. She and her students must have their temperatures checked regularly through the day. Several times a day she must disinfect all surfaces. In UK we don’t have masks, we can’t check temperatures, classrooms will be cleaned at end of each day. Plus many other differences. I’ve seen how school will be operating and if I had a child in primary I would NOT be sending them in. I WILL be going to work and will do what I can to keep myself safe. Last week I turned to walk out of a classroom and was grabbed from behind in a hug (well intentioned) by one of our Y1 pupils. I’m expecting this sort of thing to be attempted a LOT. Our children are affectionate and often try to hug us.

The images I've seen from other countries show students 2m apart with about 4 in a classroom, the teacher at a distance at the front and only older pupils.

My school is a tiny cramped, oversubscribed victorian school. The classrooms are too small at the best of times. Even with 15 children in the class they couldn't be anywhere near 2m apart. And the idea that it will be only 15 is a short lived one because it is planned that all children will be in school by mid June.

Me and DH Also public sector and working throughout barring self isolation at the start. Court and tribunal staff have been working continuing to facilitate the justice system. Most in my department not able to do so from home.

I think this is because industries which are unionised have already fought so that they have terms and conditions which mean their jobs are more secure thereby enabling them to facilitate ongoing safety improvements through the medium of being able to voice an opinion.

I live next to a construction site which has been operating the whole time (with the exception of a couple of days which was to allegedly implement safe systems of work). There is no social distancing taking place and the only time I’ve seen any Covid related PPE was when there were visitors to the site.

Private sector continues because employees do not have job security or the confidence to whistleblow or disagree with employers’ perspectives.

These sectors are deluding themselves that they have measures in place yet still have the highest infection rates. Something is not adding up.

Teachers are not complaining. Teachers are exercising their right to voice their opinion which is that they want to assure themselves that their workplace is safe (for everyone) before they move on from the status quo.

I suppose the issues with schools are:
15 children in a bubble
One set of parents from that group not social distancing
Unwittingly pass the virus onto their child
Their child passes it to one or some
They go home and spread
Etc etc
I teach, but am happy to go back as I don't really have any health issues. However I can see how the teaching environment may be very different to any other?

Other countries, hey - well in my small area of NSW, Australia, my boys are going back to school 1 day a week at the moment, on a rota basis, so that they CAN manage as much social distancing as possible.

Single children at the primary school go in on either Mon or Tues, and those with siblings go in on either Thurs or Fri. Weds is just for keyworker children (who are there every day).

The staff are also rostered so that they don't cross over between student cohorts.

These numbers allow the children to be seated one per table and keep a 2m distance in the classroom. This is all ages, kindy to Y6.

The high school my DS1 goes to have a different approach - Y12 (our final year) are in every day because our exams are in November, so they're trying to give them their best shot - but then it's also Y7 in Mon, Y8 in Tues and so on. Classes are split between classrooms so that they can sit one per table, keeping 2m distancing. Their school yard assembly area has 2m spaced spots on it that the students are expected to stand on while waiting to go into class.

I don't know how they cope with breaks - but then they're outdoors, so it's slightly less problematic. Anyone with the slightest sniffle or anything stays at home. Anyone who doesn't wish to send their child back to school for whatever reason can keep them home.

We have still had ONLY 98 deaths in the whole of Australia - and yet this is what we are doing (at least in NSW, different states are doing it slightly differently).

Restrictions are being slowly relaxed here but with a view to locking down again if numbers start to rise quickly.

Weeelllll - gonna have to retract that last post.
Our premier has just decided, after 8 days (well, 6 school days) that all public (i.e. state) schools can go back full time from next Monday. So much for waiting and seeing how things will pan out - she didn't even have the decency to wait a full 14 days before doing this.