Freight companies have proven to be extremely important on account of the global pandemics caused by COVID-19 spread. In Australia, they are significant contributors to the local economy and market development. They have been helping businesses to keep shelves relatively full and prevented the escalation of the crisis (Mhalla, p. 101). However, no business had immunity to the COVID-19 pressure, and Australian air cargo services are no exception. There are some relevant decisions which the leaders of those companies had to make urgently. This essay aims to examine the actions of freight companies from Australia in the current situation and assess whether they are appropriate in view of morality and ethics.
Airline companies intensified their product transport services by making a particular emphasis on essential goods and medical supplies. This timely decision was vital to medical procuring all around the world and indirectly helped to flatten the pandemics curve (Mhala, p. 96). Moreover, there were social projects intended to provide foodstuffs to those people who were overwhelmed by the crisis and had no money to buy provisions for children and the elderly (Barua, p. 20). The abovementioned resolution is ethically right and useful to humanity taken into consideration the number of lives it helped to save.
This measure was a logical action to do, but other permanent cargo service customers experienced severe difficulties. Some small businesses, like hand-made crafting or stationary repair, had to stop their work because of the lack of resources (McKibbin and Fernando, p. 22). Ordinary citizens faced an unusual lack of opportunity to use postal services, which resulted in significant financial losses. For example, if an individual is working abroad, they may have a problem sending documents to their family, or keys to a rented apartment to those who might need them. Local companies have stopped providing services, and this fact leaves only international freight businesses available. Those companies who still provide shipping services have remarkably raised the price, thus making it either unaffordable or not worth the suggested price (Barua, p. 37). In light of these facts, the decision by Australian cargo companies leaders was detrimental to local small businesses and resulted in serious consequences for some individuals.
Furthermore, there is a measure aimed to prevent COVID-19 transmission through cargo from China to Australia. Local freight companies, which were affected by the governmental decision, have declared that they will not accept ships from Chinese ports in their hubs unless all crew members are identified as virus-free (Heiland and Ultveit-Moe, p. 155). As this action is directed only at sea transport from China, it can be considered as discriminative. At the time when the decision was made, which was on February 20, COVID-19 was already discovered in other countries too, which makes the resolution more unreasonable. Refusal to accept ships from China is against logic and morality and seems to be dictated by racial prejudices.
To conclude, Australian freight companies have implemented multiple measures to ensure continued operation and avoid stagnation. At first sight, these measures can be perceived not only as practical and valuable but also ethically appropriate and correct. The corporations seem to act considerately and try to help underprivileged families to cope with a crisis. Nevertheless, the executed proposals do not consider the interests of minorities and individuals, which leads to discrimination and ignorance. Apart from that, it might result in an even more deplorable situation for most, given all the financial drawbacks brought about by their decisions.
Works Cited
- Barua, Suborna. Understanding Coronanomics: The Economic Implications of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. U of Dhaka, 2020.
- Heiland, Inga, and Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe. “An Unintended Crisis in Sea Transportation due to COVID-19 Restrictions.” COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won’t Work, edited by Richard Baldwin and Simon Evenett, CEPR P, 2020, pp. 151-163.
- Mhalla, Majdouline. “The Impact of Novel Coronavirus on the Global Oil and Aviation Markets.” Journal of Asian Scientific Research, vol. 10, no. 2, 2020, pp. 96-104.
- McKibbin, Warwick, and Roshen Fernando. The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: Seven Scenarios. Australian National U, 2020.