The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on care work like never before. Care workers and other key workers, and we have many in the parish, have been applauded and celebrated, yet there is a looming crisis facing the care sector. British and migrant care workers have stood shoulder to shoulder through this pandemic, yet Brexit and the UK’s broken immigration system create specific risks for migrants. EU citizens rights’ have been put at risk by the EU Settlement scheme, while migrants from outside the EU face extraordinary visa fees, difficulties maintaining their status and vulnerability to exploitation.
Myrna, care worker, on the devastating and disproportionate impacts on the Filippino community, of the government’s decision to maintain a hostile environment in the pandemic.
An event on this with various speakers, Chaired by Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East since the 2019 general election and former care worker, a role she continued part time when COVID-19 struck. In April 2020 she spoke out publicly about the lack of PPE available for care home workers, and was fired from her care work role for doing so.