BYO? Health isn't a Sunday BBQ

BYO MASKS? Yes, one disability workplace in the northwest decided it was up to the workers to spend their own hard-earned money and supply their own masks.

Disability, community, aged care and health care workers have all done a fantastic job through the pandemic. They've continued to keep themselves and their colleagues and - most important of all - their clients, residents and patients safe. Workplaces have also helped to ensure their workers can do this safely by supplying an abundance of personal protective equipment for them to use. Before announcement of the new rules about compulsory mask wearing, it was a given that most workplaces supplied their workers with these so as not to hit underthe-pump workers with extra workrelated expenses. As the disability workers union, it's part of our job to regularly sit down with relevant stakeholders to raise awareness of issues in the disability sector and to give examples of how some employers are treating their workforce. So we recently raised this BYO mask issue with a committee of senior health officials and with the Premier himself. Whilst the rules around PPE and mask wearing are changing it's never too late to raise issues to ensure people are aware of what some workers are putting up with in their already stressed workplaces. Asking workers to go above and beyond during hard times is one thing, but to then to ask them to BYO PPE is a disgrace! As we move into July 2022 the Tasmanian Government is starting to roll back certain measures contained in the current public health orders relating to COVID-19. These are steps towards learning to live with the disease and returning to a new normal. However, it's still important to continue to raise any COVIDrelated issues within your workplace. If we need to, we can pass these concerns on when we meet with people further up the food chain, like the Premier, so we always want members to keep us in the loop.