More than largesse
My ardour for social justice must have been implanted in me during the time I was a student at St Aloysius College. Somehow this ambition to do what is good, to speak one’s mind and heart were nurtured by the way we openly discussed issues with our teache
Dr Andrew Azzopardi Dean Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta & Broadcaster – Għandi xi Ngħid www.andrewazzopardi.org he ethos of the school was one of openness that at the time was second to none. We spoke about everything and were brought up to trust that we can bring about change, in our own little way, if we really believe in it.
I decided that as far as I’m concerned, the best way of doing this was to work in the social sector. I also made it a lifetime goal to voice my apprehensions, to believe in the solid principle of conciliation, to find the silver lining in everything and to free myself of any preconception, because there really is no one truth.
Yet, as you know, in society goodness does not come easy. Righteousness at times is scarce because being upright and wellbred is a hefty price to pay.
I was convinced, and still am, that working in the social sector is a gracious thing to do and that is what I did.
I spent a couple of years working with an NGO, which turned out to be one of the most intense experiences in my life. I later moved into teaching and also used to practice social work. Subsequently I started working at University within the Department of Youth and Community Studies (Faculty for Social Wellbeing).
In the past, we used to refer to the caring professions as being a ‘vocation’. Somehow I was always drawn into chipping in the narratives of people who were hard done.
I was brought up that pay and conditions of work are not the be all and end all. It’s the satisfaction, the appetite and the craving of the profession you hold to, that are just as important.
Our neoliberal mind-set seems to have thrown all of this out of the window. What seems to matter is our ‘take-home-pay’. As if being happy at work, feeling that you are doing the right thing, growing professionally are not just as momentous!
How terribly outlandish we are.
In my work life, I have witnessed the ‘setting up’ of three professions that shifted from ‘unrecognised’ professions to warranted occupations watched over by law; ‘education’ (when I was still a teacher), ‘social work’ (when working as a social worker and I also led the Maltese Social Work Association at the time) and youth work (when in my first years at University).
Let me make it clear. It is a pity that it took so much labour for teachers to get a decent rise in their pay. It is similarly shocking that we have not managed to sort out a respectable collective agreement (until this piece went to print) with the social workers, youth workers and all other professions working with the Government. Having a proper salary and good conditions of work that reflect the responsibility these professionals have is crucial and fundamental and we need to ensure that this saga is dealt with ASAP.
However, I feel that whilst any delay in improving the conditions of work of these respectable professions is wrong, it is similarly important to be careful and make sure that we keep attracting the right type of people to these professions.
There are some positive indicators. For example, the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, which trains most of the caring professions (family therapists, social workers, community workers, social policy workers, psychologists, youth workers, counsellors etc.) have registered an increase of freshers of over 23% in these last two academic years. This year the Faculty numbers over 1,000 students for the first time. But, if you had to ask me, this is still way off the target. We need more young people, mature students and non-traditional learners to join us.
Some thoughts in this regard come to mind.
Can it be the case that the caring profession are no longer being considered of an honourable nature as they used to be?
Are collective agreements, warranting and professionalization (whilst weighty) taking over the versatility, resourcefulness and malleability of the people working in this sector?
Are we failing to attract people who believe that with caring profession comes commitment to the profession, but above all loyalty first and foremost to the service user rather than the establishment? Could it be that our caring professionals have been turned into foot soldiers serving the State instead of advocating for and on behalf of their clients? Shouldn’t we be kicking up the system and tripping the institution when necessary?
Have we lost the focus from the service user and instead we are just interested in technical efficiency and productivity represented by never ending paper trails?
Have we transformed our services in technocratic managerialism, keen on checklists and KPIs rather than substantive work founded on intrinsic values?
Working in this sector is superlative, I will always believe this. There is no other job outside the caring professions that is so exquisite. This opportunity to engage with the life stories of people who are in pain is a privilege that has hardly a price.
All the money in the world cannot pay for the satisfaction of working with people who are at the bottom of the heap, who need to be loved, to be served, to be hugged and to be taken care of. I petition the following: We need not be afraid to go back to calling caring professions a vocation.
We need not be afraid to show and share our feelings with the people we work with.
We need not be afraid to love our work and the people we work with.
We need not be afraid to show grit and passion and if and when necessary to take it on with the bureaucrats.
We need not be afraid to work in this sector.
All of those who work in the sector are guaranteed one thing; ‘you will make a change and the change will transform you’.