The federal government announced some unprecedented measures today in response to the economic hardship and uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Things seem bad now and they are going to get a whole lot worse, in a public health sense and in an economic sense. The important steps taken today by the government acknowledge that reality, which is good. More will have to be done, but let’s look into what the government is planning so far.

Advisories, cancellations and updates from across the country

Prior to the pandemic, many unions and labour activists were in the thick of pushing back against right-wing governments. In Ontario, the PC government under Doug Ford spent its first two years in office slashing health care and education, imposing public-sector wage constraints, and implementing a radical transformation of public services in Ontario. In Alberta, Jason Kenney was still in early days of pursuing a similar program. Then comes a pandemic, and Canada's right-wing has changed their tune.

MONTREAL -- Teachers across Quebec say they are worried after receiving notices stating their assignments, schedules and workplaces could be modified at any time because their collective agreements are no longer considered binding in order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

SANS has made freely available its "Work-from-Home Awareness Kit."

When I think about how COVID-19's security measures are affecting organizational networks, there are several interrelated problems

The Australian government is still delaying needed measures to support workers in casual, self-employed, or gig positions during the unprecedented labour market turmoil resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Other countries, however, are moving quickly with unprecedented measures to support jobs and incomes for all workers - including those in non-standard employment - to ensure they can take necessary time away from work, and do not lose their livelihoods as a result of the virus.

New C.D.C. data showed that nearly 40 percent of patients sick enough to be hospitalized were aged 20 to 54. But the risk of dying was significantly higher in older people.

During World War II, UAW leader Walter Reuther had a plan to reorient the economy toward needed production, centering the interests of labor rather than markets. As the global health system faces massive shortages in vital medical equipment, Reuther’s blueprints can help us generate our own mass-scale response to the crisis.

In the face of the mounting coronavirus crisis, we need to start asking a crucial question: who pays for the lockdown? The last three weeks have taught some hard lessons to Italian workers. Indeed, workers have been shouldering the bulk of the crisis. This applies to workers in all sectors, and even more intensely with activities related to care. If the right to work safely cannot be guaranteed, all nonessential activities must be shut down.

The COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call for managers and prompt them to consider actions that will improve their resilience to future shocks.

Here are some quick thoughts from Jim Stanford on the extensive package of emergency measures announced today by Prime Minister Trudeau, Finance Minister Morneau, and Bank of Canada Governor Poloz.

Forecasts of a global slump in the rest of 2020 are coming in droves from mainstream economists – it’s now the consensus that there will be a contraction in global real GDP in at least two consecutive quarters (Q1 and Q2), in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘lock down’ in response.

The Covid-19 pandemic is epoch-defining, writes Grace Blakeley. It could herald the end of the era of finance-led growth, and the beginning of state-monopoly capitalism. Socialists must adapt or face another lesson in disaster capitalism from the right.