Earlier this month, the YCW teamed up with our Sister Movement the Movement of Christian Workers (MCW) for a seminar called "Decent Work for All" to celebrate the World Day for Decent Work. This was the first ever joint event between the movements. We were joined by YCW and MCW members from across England and Wales, including Mary Foy MP who chaired the seminar.
There was a full agenda for the day, covering a range of topics of shared interest to all who attended.
Following the introduction and welcome, YCW National President Marc Besford helped set the scene by talking about what “decent work” means and some of the key issues facing many young people now in the world of work. This was also looked at from the perspective of the deep theological history of the Church.
Later in the seminar there was an opportunity for open discussion on some of the topics raised, including the impact of furlough, working from home vs being in the office and Joseph Cardijn’s vision for the YCW movement.
After the first half of the day looking at some of the internal aspects of what decent work might mean from the respective movements, other speakers opened up the discussion to look at the realities across different parts of the country. Perspectives were shared from Preston, both about poverty and “community wealth building”, which helped start a discussion about the importance of dignity in work as a cornerstone of a good society.
Overall, it was a really interesting and thought provoking day for all those who attended. A video of the seminar is available below for anyone who couldn’t make it.
