[ti:As Coronavirus Spreads, Service Workers Worry about Wages] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The spread of the new coronavirus is affecting the work and pay of people around the world. [00:11.32]A delivery driver in Britain worries about getting sick from the people who sign for their purchases each day. [00:21.84]And a server at a restaurant in the American state of Missouri washes his hands more often and simply hopes for the best. [00:34.20]Some professionals can work from home or call in sick if they experience signs of COVID-19, the disease the virus causes. [00:46.24]But that is not possible for service workers who often come into contact with the public. [00:54.72]Their situation is made worse by limited or non-existent sick leave and health insurance. [01:04.64]"The recommendations on what people should be doing to protect themselves [01:10.12]really gives a sharp indication of the divide between white collar and blue collar workers," [01:18.20]said Shannon Liss-Reardon, a workers rights lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. [01:25.44]White-collar jobs are those that take place in an office or other professional environment. [01:33.68]Blue-collar jobs are those that require a person to perform more physical labor of some kind. [01:42.80]In the United States, about 27 percent of non-government workers [01:49.04]do not get paid sick leave, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. [01:56.56]There is no federal sick leave policy in the United States, [02:01.60]but 12 of the 50 states as well as Washington D.C. require employers to offer paid sick leave. [02:12.96]And, employers with 50 or more employees are required to offer health insurance. [02:21.20]That protection is not extended to part-time or independent workers. [02:29.12]Some Democratic lawmakers have proposed legislation to deal with the issue. [02:36.68]It would require employers to let workers earn seven days of paid sick leave. [02:44.52]It would also provide an additional 14 days of paid sick leave [02:50.40]in the event of a public health emergency, including the current one. [02:57.80]On Monday, President Donald Trump said he was seeking help [03:02.76]for hourly-wage workers to make sure they will not miss a paycheck. [03:09.64]In Britain, delivery driver Ed Cross worries about catching the virus [03:15.60]from the machine he gives to people to sign for their goods. [03:21.68]"People have coughed on their hand and then got hold of my machine," said Cross, who is 53 years old. [03:31.24]That is what "we face daily," he said. [03:36.36]The British government last week made it easier to collect sick pay. [03:42.60]It also is working on changes to help millions of non-permanent workers like Cross [03:50.92]who do not meet conditions for receiving sick pay. [03:56.32]And, the company he works for has announced a financial deal [04:01.44]to help workers if they need to restrict themselves to home. [04:08.08]The new virus spread has shown huge holes in health care coverage at a time when people may need it most. [04:19.64]Most European countries and Canada have universal healthcare systems. [04:26.44]But the United States has a mix of public and private insurance. [04:34.24]Joey Ingham works at a restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. [04:39.44]He does not have health insurance. [04:42.64]The restaurant is popular with business travelers, he says. [04:48.96]"If I wasn't able to come into work, it would be hard to make ends meet," said Ingham. [04:57.04]If he felt sick, he said, he would probably talk to a supervisor about what to do. [05:05.40]In France, people have the right not to work and get full pay when they consider their workplaces to be dangerous. [05:16.12]Some service workers there have stayed home for a short period because of infection concerns. [05:24.84]Workers at the Louvre Museum in Paris refused to work for two days. [05:32.92]They returned to work only after officials there announced new virus-fighting measures. [05:40.92]I'm Bryan Lynn. [05:43.48]And I'm Caty Weaver. [05:45.28]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM