Nearly one in two workers (46%) say they have been put at risk of COVID at work, while more than eight in ten (84%) believe the NSW Government moved too slowly to lock down the city, according to a new survey of Sydney workers.
The Unions NSW survey of 2993 workers in education, manufacturing, professional services, health and other industries was conducted between 28 July and 4 August 2021.
The survey revealed pessimism about the near term future, with 59 per cent of respondents expecting the health situation in NSW to deteriorate in the near future.
And two-thirds of respondents (66%) also said they expect economic conditions to worsen in the near future.
Of the workers who have received assistance through Services Australia, 43 per cent described a "difficult" or "very difficult" process.
Unions NSW Secretary, Mark Morey, said the results reflected the slow and piecemeal health and economic response from the state and federal governments.
"The number one lesson of the pandemic is that when governments move fast and decisively they minimise the health and economic pain. Sadly that didn't happen in NSW. Through a mixture of hubris and internal political conflict, the Premier delayed locking down by at least nine days.
"Now we are all paying the price.
"The slow health response has been compounded by a weak economic response. We still don't have universal vaccine leave, nor do we have universal testing leave. The state and federal governments seem unwilling and unable to understand the link between economic security and health.
"First shot vaccine coverage in the south-west is almost one-third less than the rate of the eastern suburbs or north shore. This is no surprise. Workers in the south west have insecure employment and tend to work in manual or service sector jobs. It's simply harder for them to get vaccinated and so governments must do everything possible to bridge the gap.
"The state and federal governments need to open their eyes to the unfolding reality. We need universal vaccine and testing leave, and if necesssary, it should be Commonwealth funded. We also need to reinstate JobKeeper and provide additional utility bill supplements and guaranteed mortgage holidays. The workers and businesses of south west and western Sydney will only bounce back if they can survive lockdown."
