-The Hindu In their response to the pandemic, countries have hardly evinced concern about the health and well-being of workers The coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease is the first neoliberal virus in the world. To say so is not to reduce its dangers — particularly to the already vulnerable, such as the old, the ill or the poor (who cannot isolate without starving) — but to criticise how it has been...

-The Hindu A package for Rs. 5-lakh crore-₹6-lakh crore targeted across different sections of society and the economy, is feasible India has just finished a day of curfew and clapping to practise ‘social distancing’ and to express gratitude to the millions of health and essential services workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a laudable initiative by the Prime Minister to rally the nation together. The nation is truly at war, as...

-The Telegraph The large-scale unemployment the pandemic was set to cause would cost workers between $860 billion and $3.4 trillion in income losses Several workers’ organisations have demanded a special package to tide workers over the income slump entailed by coronavirus-induced social distancing and economic slowdown, at a time the International Labour Organisation has predicted a loss of 25 million jobs globally. An initial assessment by the ILO said the impact could be...

-Press note by Right to Food Campaign (Jharkhand) dated 21st March, 2020 As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, a double crisis looms over Jharkhand: a health crisis and an economic crisis. Already, unemployed migrant workers are returning en masse from different states, including some (e.g. Maharashtra) with many coronavirus cases. Food vendors are losing business, and more occupations are likely to be hit as economic activity slows down. As more and more...

-The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, life has become akin to a dystopian movie, with lockdowns and quarantines becoming the norm, wherein even doing a nondescript chore comes saddled with dire consequences. But, even as life is grinding to a standstill and uncertainty looms large, are there any glimmers of hope around? Social distancing measures, which include travel restrictions and companies enforcing work-from-home, have been enforced in all countries...