In one of the toughest times in living memory, DHL have done very well for themselves. Even before the onset of Covid-19, the German parcel firm was one of the wealthiest global logistics companies. But during the pandemic, they have only grown: last week, the company could admit that in the past few months it had experienced a rise in profit so high that its CEO claimed that they have “never been in better shape.”

However, these fortunes haven’t trickled down to their workers employed in sites across Britain, who bore the brunt of the crisis and saw their productivity rise by around 300%. Recently, they were given a €300 bonus. They wondered whether it was a typo, and that the company meant £300. However, it actually did mean euros – it was just a directive from the company’s base in Germany that nobody wanted to change, presumably because if it was rounded to £300, the British workers would take a few more pounds. 

With that being said, the workers – most of whom are very poorly paid – didn’t complain, since the only previous thanks they had received for their efforts was a Marks and Spencer voucher for fruit.

CWU members on the ground tell union organisers regularly that DHL sites across the country are a ticking timebomb. Social distancing has not been observed throughout the period, with cost efficiency measures meaning that groups of four or five workers have to work closely in small trailers, and changing rooms are always rammed.

However, potentially the worst thing DHL workers are going through is that their company has not extended their sick pay policy to cover an entire 14-day isolation period. As a result of this, countless workers have had to take unpaid months off to shield relatives who are at risk from the disease, while some workers have been forced to return from self-isolation while still sick.

It should go without saying how disgusting this policy is. But DHL’s conduct is not just an affront to their workers, it’s an insult to the general public. If we want to beat the virus and get to the lowest possible infection rate, it will take everyone’s effort and responsibilities in doing so. But how can anyone expect low-paid workers who may be infected to self-isolate if they know that they would be financially on their own?

The truth is that companies like DHL are putting their workers in a position where if they want to do the right thing, they have to suffer for it. It’s a far cry from the cheerful rhetoric from the past few months about our “heroic” key workers who kept our country going – but who are now expected to make a choice between feeding their kids or protecting the wider community from infection. 

This type of penny-pinching corporate greed is morally wrong, and it puts us all at risk. This is why campaigns like ‘Time Out to Help Out’ is so important. The campaign, which has been backed by the CWU as well as other unions, has been fronted by North West Regional Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, who recognise that at least 137,000 workers in Greater Manchester and Liverpool can’t claim the weekly statutory sick pay (SSP) of £95.85 simply because their incomes are too low to meet the £120-a-week threshold to receive the benefit.

Campaigns like this should be greatly welcomed, and we urge you to go and sign the petition. But it cannot end there.

Across DHL sites, the CWU are organising a campaign for workers who have lost out on what should be a basic workplace right. We are visiting sites, developing union structures where they didn’t previously exist, and – of course – we are pushing for real pay justice. CWU members have already been pointing out to colleagues how they only received the €300 bonus because in mainland Europe, DHL workers are much more strongly organised into unions – and receive much more dignified treatment from management as a result.

If you are a DHL Parcels UK worker, please think about joining our union and look at our campaign. There is a better option than to roll over on this indignity: it is the option to stand up for yourself, and the CWU are willing to fight with you for that. This crisis may last for quite some time, and the truth is that in places like DHL, the only way is to organise out of it.