The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) back in February 2020 reported that, while paid employment reduced the risk of poverty there remained about 56% of people living in poverty in 2018. These 56% were in households where at least one person had a job.
The JRF website provided details which broke this now further explaining that in 2017/20 there were 18.4 million workers in poverty; 1.9 million were in full-time jobs; 1.4 million were in part-time work and 0.7 were
self-employed full-time.
This belies the fact, which many people believe, that moving from social security benefit into work means that workers are also moving out of poverty. Whilst it maybe true of some it is not true of all. Some workers are instead merely in a position of earning their own poverty. Sadly, workers’ earning their own poverty is not a new experience and has been expressed over the years by the MCW. Recently Marcus Rashford has received a great deal of publicity in his campaign for school meals and sharing the family’s experience of poverty even though his mother was in employment. Little, if any, comment was made about at one stage his mother having to hold down three jobs at one time so as to make ends meet.
This final sentence is the significant and salient point to the “Forgotten Workers” research which was the focus of the MCW’s National Conference 2020.
The “Forgotten Workers” research concentrates on and shines a spotlight on to the experiences of workers who have to have more than one, sometimes three or four, jobs to provide food, clothes and shelter for themselves and their families. To hear about this unique research presented by Dr Andrew Smith at the MCW National Conference, 14th November 2020, follow the YouTube link. It is really an opportunity not to be missed. https://youtu.be/MHX7_JyBDAg
