'We're not being looked after': Hotel quarantine security guards speak out about the risks of being on the frontline
Hotel quarantine security guards at the frontline of keeping the highly-contagious B117 variant of COVID-19 out of Western Australia have called for better wages and duty of care provisions, with many paid as little as $22 an hour to put their health at risk during 12-hour shifts.
Speaking anonymously for fear of being sacked, two security guards working for different private contractors have spoken out about the poor conditions and personal toll of the job.
"We're not being treated nicely, we're not being paid well, we're not looked after. What's the upside?" one said.
One guard, who works at another quarantine hotel in Perth, told the ABC the case that sparked Perth's lockdown was a "game-changer" for security personnel working at the quarantine hotels.
"Everyone's confidence has been really shaken," the guard said.
"I live at home with an elderly family member and many, many people I work with live in multi-generational houses. Every time we do our hallway walks [in the hotel corridors] we are just as close as that guard got.
"For me, that's a real concern."
Yesterday, WA's director of communicable disease control, Paul Armstrong, confirmed that up until this point security guards at quarantine hotels had not been required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) unless they heard guests coming or had an "inkling" that their door would open.
Dr Armstrong said that policy would be changed and PPE would now be mandatory for security guards at all times.
The move has been welcomed by the two guards interviewed by the ABC.
"I appreciate the fact that they are prioritising our health but still question why this wasn't instituted before," one said.
"It feels like all the rules they bring in are a reaction, rather than proactive."
Both guards claimed that, if anything, PPE use until this point had been discouraged by supervisors.
"We've definitely been told to be frugal with our PPE. We've certainly been told that it's not a bottomless pit," one said.
"I have been made to feel like, if I asked for extra PPE, that that might be questioned."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTA0L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWF1c3RyYWxpYS1saXZlLW5ld3MtY292aWQxOS8xMzExODg3NtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzExODg3Ng?oc=5
2021-02-03 23:32:15Z
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