How could we do things differently?
Original image credit - Matt Seymour
This article was written during the first UK lockdown in 2020 as a way to think about how the experience had changed our perceptions. At the time there was a lot of talk about learning from the pandemic and building back better. Now the restrictions are being eased on the third UK lockdown, it is worth thinking about what we have learnt and reconsidering how we could do things differently, instead of rushing back to “normal” and replicating how things used to be.
The article was originally published in issue 2 of the Lockdown Gazette, a newspaper for the digitally excluded of Newcastle and Gateshead, by the NewBridge Project.
The impact of Covid-19 has changed the way many of us view the world. And this has given us an opportunity to think about how we could do things differently.
Lockdown has meant that a lot of us have not been able to go to work, which has had a big effect on our daily lives.
It has given some people more time and space for other activities like:
Volunteering with a mutual aid group
Learning a new skill
Spending more time with family
But has also caused a lot of stress and insecurity about the future, leading us to ask questions like:
Will I have a job next month?
How I am going to pay the rent?
What happens if I get sick?
Covid-19 has also made us question what kind of work is valuable, and what activity is seen as “work.”
It has revealed that the jobs which were considered low skill and poorly paid, like carers, cleaners, shop assistants, delivery drivers, security guards and fruit pickers, are actually doing the essential work we need to happen for society to function. It has also showed us that a lot of high paying jobs may not be as important as the size of their pay packets suggest.
We can now see just how dysfunctional the world of work is. Lots of jobs do not pay enough to cover the cost of living, and many do not come with sick pay or other rights that provide any security when we are unable to work.
As the pandemic continues, the future of jobs is more uncertain, even for professions that seemed secure. And it looks like this situation is going to get worse, not better…
So what could we do differently? One idea that more people are calling for is Basic Income.
Basic Income would be a regular monthly payment to every individual in society, giving everyone financial support and creating a steady floor that no one would fall below.
The payment would be unconditional. This means that you would receive the same Basic Income if you were a fulltime cleaner, a part-time delivery driver or a stay at home parent.
The idea of Basic Income has been around for a long time and interest in it has grown since the start of the pandemic. But not everyone thinks that it is a good idea…
Covid-19 has shown us that everyone is at risk of losing their job or not being able to go to work. That’s why it is important that Basic Income would be universal and unconditional.
So you would still get the Basic Income if you:
were made redundant
got sick
needed to self-isolate or shield
need to look after housemate or family member
need to go back into education and retrain
Yes, Basic Income would be expensive, but so will not protecting people from the consequences of Covid-19.
Basic Income would be this generation’s NHS. It would be a way of investing in society and protecting all of us.
Covid-19 has shown us is that the important work which society needs to function is often unpaid or underpaid. Lockdown has also shown us just how much we rely on other people.
Many of us do things which involve a lot of effort, but we do not get paid to do:
Caring for friends and relatives
Socialising
Playing sport
Making music and art
Volunteering
Some people don’t view these activities as work, but they are often the things that give our lives meaning. Doing them also benefits other people. Basic Income would reward all this activity and also mean we could do more of it if we needed or wanted to.
More about the author
Toby Lloyd - @TobyPhipsLloyd
Toby P Lloyd is an artist and researcher based in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is currently undertaking a PhD at Newcastle University exploring the role participatory arts practice can play in engaging issues of active citizenship and re-evaluating our current relationships to work to inform understandings of a post-work society?
He is the co-founder of UBI Lab North East and UBI Lab Arts.