Anniversary of Cardinal Manning

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Henry Edward, Cardinal, Manning the second archbishop of Westminster.

He worked tirelessly towards building a better and fairer society for all including workers and was especially influential in Catholic social teaching and was a strong influence on Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" which articulated clearly the importance of work and of workers rights.

He was instrumental in settling the London Dock Strike of 1889, which resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union. The strike is widely considered a milestone in the development of the British labour movement, symbolising the growth of the New Unions of casual, unskilled and poorly paid workers, in contrast to the craft unions already in existence. The strike helped to draw attention to the problem of poverty in Victorian Britain and the dockers' cause attracted considerable public sympathy.

President Marc Besford said: “Many in the YCW movement see his leadership at that time as a symbol of how the power of faith and commitment to social justice can lead to significant improvements in life for those who need it. This tradition carries on to this day, with many YCW groups taking action - inspired by the Gospel - to improve our world.”

Listening To The Voice Of Young People Event

The YCW recently announced that it will be collaborating with Caritas Westminster on a series on online events aimed at listening to young people and reflecting on their realities.

The first of these is tonight, so please see the details below and sign up if you can:

YCW And Caritas Westminster Collaboration Programme

YCW and Caritas Westminster have teamed up to provide 12 online zoom conversations for young people in the Diocese aged 18-30 to form a "Young Caritas Forum". 

This exciting new programme is the result of a partnership between the two organisations that has been developing over the past few years. It will look at various important topics facing young people at the moment, from the impact of Covid to Youth Leadership.

One of the first sessions will be an open enquiry into life at the moment using the SEE, JUDGE, ACT Method of the YCW.

These forums will be held online to ensure it is kept Covid-safe, but it is also hoped that the virtual approach will allow for more people to tune in and attend.

Marc Besford, National President of the YCW, welcomed this new programme saying: “I am really pleased we have been able to pull together this exciting series of events. Our partnership with Caritas Westminster is growing stronger and helping us both reach more people. Please keep an eye out for the events as they appear and tune in,”

Young People's Response To Covid-19 - Survey And Webinar

The YCW have been working with St Antony’s Centre and their partners throughout the pandemic to bring support to those affected by Covid-19. Alongside Salford Caritas and BCFU (Blackpool Centre for Unemployed) there was agreement that we should see how Covid-19 has impacted young people specifically and explore the range of issues young people are facing in the current climate.

A survey has been created to explore young people’s opinions and feelings on Covid-19’s impact. It is hoped that this will give a greater understanding of how we can all mould our approach to supporting young people post lockdown and beyond.

There are also plans to hold a Young People’s webinar focusing on how young people have been impacted by Covid-19. It is essential young people are given the platform to have a direct input on the response to Covid-19, especially what our partnership of organisations can do to suppor young people. This is a great opportunity for young people to share their thoughts and feelings.

If you would like to help the research please fill in the survey at the link below:

How Covid-19 has impacted young people survey

If you would like to attend the webinar you can register below:

How Covid-19 has impacted young people webinar registration

Launch of Covid Related Resources For Groups

An essential aspect of a YCW Group meeting is the “Review of Life”. This activity allows the young leaders to talk about one thing which has happened recently - a situation, a conversation, a meeting, an event, a challenge in their daily life that involved them or someone they know, made them think a little, feel bad or good, ask questions, get angry, or want help.

Through this, the young leaders can then explore in more detail the most urgent or relevant.

An alternative option for Groups to follow is pick a topic through which to steer the “Review of Life”. Following discussions with those Groups who have started to meet again, the need to explore aspects of life during lockdown and living with the coronavirus will be essential.

Therefore, the YCW National Team have produced some targeted resources that Groups can use to kick start their reviews. These topics include:

• Mental Health

• Community Work

• Education

• Key Workers

• The Environment

The resources will be available for free on the YCW website (click here to access) and can be used by Groups over a series of weeks/months.

Marc Besford, National Training and Development Worker, said: “We are living in unprecedented times and young people and workers will be massively affected by this. Education has been interrupted, jobs lost or at risk, opportunities harder to find and other challenges that will impact on their future still needing focus. We hope these resources will help our young leaders grapple with some of these and respond with authentic Christian action.”

Young Workers Challenge For Trade Union Movement

Last year the YCW highlighted several times the “Year of the Young Worker” initiative being led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) during 2019.

Whilst a recent study concluded that Trade Union membership rose for the third year running, including a significant increase in women joining - the highest level since 1995 - the report was less positive about the number of young people in a trade union.

The report said: “Still too high a proportion of union members are in the public sector when most people are employed in private sector jobs and too many union members are near the end than the beginning of their working lives. Whilst less than one quarter of current union members are aged under 34, more than 40 per cent are aged 50 and over.”

This comes at a time when nearly 90% of under 30s on low to median incomes work in the private sector — but just 6.3% of them are in trade unions.

The YCW Movement in England and Wales used the focus on young workers last year to improve our own collaboration with the TUC and has been working with local trade union branches of the GMB to draw up a Young Workers Charter. Not only this, but we sent a delegate to the Centenary of the International Labour Organisation to represent the voice of young workers in the dscussions.

With clearly a lot more work needed and with the concerns about the impact of Covid on the younger workforce in the economy, we will be prioritising our representation on this issue and engaging with young leaders across the Movement about it.

National Training and Development Worker, Marc Besford, said: “It is important for the YCW to be a strong voice for improving the world of work for young workers. As early as 1891, the Catholic Church recognised that Unions were one of the ways in which the dignity of work could be upheld, today that need is still there.”