Have we learned nothing?
I was surely naive, because I thought that the pandemic would bring something good: it would make us aware of the enormous inequalities that exist in our country and, on the other hand, for us to understand, once and for all, that all jobs are dignified, necessary and important and that, therefore, whatever work is done, every worker must earn a good salary in order to be able to live without pressure or fear. That is to say that I believed that we were going to understand, as a society, the need to have a balance of income, to put an end to class struggles and all sorts of social injustices.
Last week the International Day for Decent Work was celebrated and I wonder, since covid interrupted our lives in March 2020, what have we learned? For my part, long before, I learned that I had to live differently and that I had to rethink my vital priorities, but above all, that to live and be happy, I didn’t need much… The pandemic has learned that we are all in this passing world, that we need each other and that no one should live in anguish and worry about their future. As long as they are legal and honest, all jobs are decent, all of them! What is not decent, for millions of workers, is the abuse of work, the poor conditions, the irregular contracts, the pressures of all kinds at work, the anxiety and stress suffered by many, the low wages which do not allow the worker to live from his own efforts… But, for me, the most indecent thing is that one person earns 14,000 euros a year and yet another can earn 60,000 or more every month. I am convinced that to end unemployment and all sorts of irregularities in work, we will have to move towards universal employment and an income pact. It is surely delusional, but I am convinced that, sooner or later, it will be the model of society that we have, the one based on fraternity. Juan Ruibal Ordonez. Pontevedra.
poverty eradication
October 17 marks the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty. According to the UN, one in ten people in the world live in extreme poverty (living on less than $1.9 a day). One of the UN’s goals was to reduce the global poverty rate to less than 3% by 2030, but after the pandemic, that goal is seen as unachievable. According to recent studies analyzing the characteristics of poverty in developed countries, 85% of the world’s population can be considered poor. In Spain, the percentage of the population at risk or in a situation of social exclusion has recently increased to 27.8%. Some 2.7 million boys and girls are at risk of poverty or exclusion.
This data should give us pause, especially considering the bleak outlook for the future. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the climate and energy crisis and inflation continue to widen the gap between rich and poor. Berta Jun Rodeja Cortada. Barcelona.