WATCH: Equality – it’s a class issue

This webinar, held on 20 May 2020 by the independent think tank The Institute of Employment Rights, asks how we can build a more equal society from the lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professor Lydia Hayes of the University of Kent discusses her team’s research into the disadvantages faced by care workers and the intrinsic link between care quality and employment rights and her book investigating the benefits of reintroducing sectoral collective bargaining to the care sector. 

Dr Faiza Shaheen from Class think tank talks about her team’s research into the fears working people have over their futures during Covid-19, with one fifth of workers saying they may face unemployment in the coming months due to a lack of long-term planning for the labour market after furlough. She also discusses the importance of recognising the working class as a multi-ethnic group following the emphasis on the ‘white working class’ during the 2019 election.

Roger McKenzie, Unison, discusses the hypocrisy of clapping for NHS workers while simultaneously rushing through an immigration bill that puts many of them at a significant disadvantage, as well as addressing the inequalities faced by black workers both before and during the pandemic.