A Catholic centre specialising in serving people in work is helping them prepare for significant changes to their working lives as society gradually emerges from coronavirus lockdown.
Some will lose their jobs, be offered reduced hours or asked to work more from home, according to Kevin Flanagan, director of St Antony’s Centre for Church and Industry in Manchester.
In Salford Diocese, the centre is responsible for the development of economic and social affairs relating to work issues and economic community regeneration.
He told The Tablet: “We decided not to put our staff on furlough in order to help us be ready for the new world of work, or lack of it.” Key concerns are around retaining jobs, returning to work with no childcare provision and safe working practices.
Flanagan feels there are big challenges in the weeks to come, such as many employers announcing job cuts. “The move to reductions in furlough payments is leading to anxiety by many as it moves from 80 per cent to 60 per cent” he says. “There is a storm brewing with us likely to see deep recession and huge redundancies,” he warned. “I’m sure the world of work will change radically.” He felt there will be a growth in insecure work but even that may not be easily available.
St Antony’s is an accredited training provider. It helps older adults leaving industry to find alternative work by boosting their fundamental work skills in IT, English and Maths. There are programmes teaching skills for people made redundant and for those in work.
“We now operate in six communities across the North West offering a range of adult education and support services through St Antony's Centre and other partner organisations,” said Flanagan.
Centres in Accrington, Manchester, Oldham, Liverpool, Preston and Runcorn are available to local communities and offer Internet access. “At each centre we can provide support and training in functional skills Maths and English and we can also support them in getting online and using computers” he said. Each centre has work clubs to help the unemployed plan their journey back into work. “We can provide information, assist with preparing a strong CV and covering letter, support with online job hunting and application forms, or simply provide access to a computer.”
In Princess Foods in Manchester, they are working with the GMB and the employer, a training room is available to employees to learn new skills before the factory closes later this year.
In his view “health and safety measures are not sufficient at the moment to give people confidence in returning to work after lockdown”. Thousands of education workers fear the consequences of a speedy return, according to a recent survey by GMB and Unison. He queried the safety of schools returning in early June when many teachers feel that health and safety has not had sufficient consideration. He queried whether, for example, there was adequate testing for the virus, risk assessment, or guidance for teachers on infection control or using personal protection equipment. “Safe working practices are of great concern to us” says Flanagan and notes trade union advice to keep schools closed until "it is demonstrably safe" for them to reopen. He warned that in some of its pronouncements, “the government does not seem to be rooted in realities on the ground”.
St Antony’s links closely with trade unions and shares concerns about the working conditions of frontline health workers, such as ambulance drivers and care home staff. Unison said this week that thousands of "hidden workers", such as refuse collectors, are putting their health at risk by keeping essential services going and deserve more government support.
Mental health is another important issue and St. Antony’s is helping people with high anxiety levels. These may be people having to reapply for work, being pushed into more homeworking, or concerned about health and safety in the workplace. “In the midst of the pandemic, social distancing, and lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis, more people than ever will need help, right now and in the months and years to come” says Flanagan. He suggests “mental health services and charities will face a wave of new enquiries for help, on top of those who were suffering before coronavirus plunged us into turmoil”.
The Centre also provides opportunities for men and women within the Salford Diocese and wider Christian Community to develop their understanding of Christian Social Thinking and the work of the Church in the wider community. Flanagan feels the Church lacks a mechanism to hear people’s stories, asking, “how are we to be a listening church without ears to listen?” He lamented that the Catholic Bishops' Conference no longer has a world of work committee within its structure. However, he welcomed the bishops’ support for the Living Wage, an hourly wage rate calculated to take into consideration the costs of housing, transport, food and basic essentials for the worker and their family.