Thanking the essential workers

On 27 March, President Higgins signed the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020. In a statement accompanying the notice of his signature, the President expressed his sympathies “to all those who have lost a family member or friend, and my best wishes to all those who have been infected by the virus, all those who have not had the opportunity to express their grief, or offer their care to those they love.”

The President continued:

“As we muster our resolve to be far more vigilant as we enter a most difficult phase of tackling the virus, it is appropriate for me to express my thanks to the Irish people for their response to the crisis, and urge them to stay the course and encourage others to do so.

So many people are continuing to do their best to keep us safe and to keep the country going, through their efforts in the health service, in public service bodies, in important social services, in shops and in pharmacies. It is appropriate that we, as a nation, thank them for their service by doing our bit, by complying with the HSE advice.

Extraordinary and difficult measures have been necessary as we try to stem the tide of increasing infection.”

Referring to his signing of the emergency legislation, President Higgins said in March that “intergenerational solidarity has been one of the greatest resources of contemporary Irish society.” Thanking the first responders

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone, has changed our society, and is posing profound challenges. Throughout the pandemic, President Higgins has sought to provide leadership, calling on the Irish people at home and abroad to heed the public health advice and to support one another in solidarity.

And from the start, the President singled out those workers in pivotal sectors of society, who continued to provide essential services throughout the lock-down.

In a message to the people of Ireland, disseminated via local newspapers and local radio stations in early April, President Higgins said that in the dark days that lay ahead we had an opportunity “to draw on those great Irish instincts of solidarity, empathy and kindness to allow us to help each other through this ordeal.”

“May I take this opportunity again to express my deep gratitude, mar Uachtarán na hÉireann, on behalf of the Irish people, to our health care workers, GPs, pharmacists and their staff, Defence Forces, and An Garda Síochána, all of whom are working tirelessly and selflessly to ensure the best care possible is being made available for those affected by the Coronavirus and also for the safety of all our citizens.”

President Higgins hosted a number of events to remember all workers who died through exposure to the Covid-19 virus and to highlight the importance of keeping all workers safe and healthy. He also addressed health workers, for instance on International Nurses Day and at graduation ceremonies of the schools of nursing.

On International Nurses Day, the President said: “We have all gained hard-won wisdom with regard to the value of frontline workers, such as nurses, and those providing essential services across the economy. It would be so regrettable, egregious even, if, through some form of collective amnesia, we as a society were ever to disregard or forget your heroic efforts, and revert to where we were before the pandemic – a society that sometimes failed to value you fully.”

“We must welcome the praise, private and public, for those selfless and much appreciated workers. Yet praise alone, however, will not adequately protect the lives of vulnerable workers or safeguard them from subordination to economic efficiency.

It is only by closing the gap between words and action in relation to conditions, safety and provision that we can sufficiently and ethically commemorate those workers we honour here today.”

President Higgins and RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy, at ‘The Starry Plough’ memorial, dedicated to workers’ rights, the Citizen Army and playwright Sean O’Casey

The President returned to this theme on the international stage. Addressing an International Labour Organisation (ILO) summit in July, the President argued that the pandemic has forced “a return to basics that none of us, including the ILO, can afford to ignore; questions such as how did we come to value so little, take for granted, essential work and essential workers? We have been shown what the consequences are of privileging those remunerated in a financialised global economy over those who worked in the provision of universal basic services, or indeed worked in the real economy.”

In October, in a keynote address to the OECD’s conference on “Confronting Planetary Emergencies”, the President highlighted the wage and employment insecurity of some, the vulnerability of tenants, and how many workers providing essential services are “shamefully undervalued and underpaid.”

Gratitude, whose expression is so important, however, cannot be, and must not ever be, perceived as any adequate substitute for the dignity, well-being, and security of employment that is the right of all workers in any fair and inclusive society.”

President Higgins and Sabina marking International Workers’ Memorial Day, with representatives of workers who care for those most affected and who are at the forefront of efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic

In June 2020, President Michael D. Higgins launched a nationwide musical tribute to essential workers on European Music Day

President Higgins launched a nationwide musical tribute to essential workers on European Music Day, Sunday, 21 June. Musicians joined the President on the steps of Áras an Uachtaráin to perform Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ (Óid don Lúcháire), the European Anthem, before the musical salute continued with a larger group of musicians and singers led by the acclaimed soprano Mairéad Buicke on the steps of the National Concert Hall, Dublin.

‘Ode to Joy’ echoed across the nation as musicians and music lovers were called on to perform their own European Music Day tribute to all frontline workers within their local communities, while maintaining physical distancing.

“The coronavirus provides us with an opportunity to do things better. This crisis will pass, but there will be other viruses and other crises. We cannot let ourselves be left in the same vulnerable position again. We have, yet again, learned lessons in relation to healthcare and equity, in relation to what is necessary in terms of income and the necessities of life… The coronavirus has highlighted the unequivocal case for a new eco-social political economy – of having universal basic services that will protect us in the future.”