The Los Angeles county board of supervisors recently approved a programme in which workers from certain sectors, including apparel, will form public health councils to help ensure employers follow pandemic safety rules. The board also asked for an ordinance to protect workers from retaliation as safety issues are rarely expressed due to fear of being fired. The programme, will an annual budget of around $5 million, is an effort to expand the enforcement of health orders in the United States and address the pandemic’s toll on essential workers, according to US media reports. The motion will pair councils in the food and apparel manufacturing, warehousing and storage, and restaurant sectors with third-party organisations that will educate workers on health orders and help them report violations. The county is experiencing a fresh surge of novel coronavirus infections. Third-party organisations like non-profits and unions will be certified by the county to train councils on coronavirus health protocols. Employers are encouraged but not required to pay workers for their time participating on the councils, to allow councils to meet on-site and to help third party organizations reach out to interested workers, according to the motion. Labour groups applauded the idea but said it should be applied more broadly across industries. The motion faced sharp opposition from business leaders, who said it would unnecessarily burden employers already struggling to overcome the pandemic.
