Life after lockdown
Sophie Halle-Richards on the uncertainty facing many of the town’s residents
HE had been back from paternity leave for two weeks when he lost his job at Manchester Airport. As the country went into lockdown on March 23, Wythenshawe’s largest employer was hit by an unprecedented decline in passenger numbers.
A young man, a shop worker at the airport who asked not be named, he was made redundant days before the government furlough scheme came into place, leaving him with no choice but to apply for Universal Credit.
With a four-week-old baby, he and his partner were left with just £350-a-month to live on until the first payment finally came through six weeks later.
He has tried desperately to get back into employment, but says the job market in Wythenshawe is more saturated than ever. One employer in the area told him they had received more than 2,000 applicants for one job, he says.
Wythenshawe is no stranger to hard times, and the tight-knit community has often pulled together in the face of austerity.
And in recent years, things have been on the up. Additional Metrolink stops, and a host of new jobs linked to a £280m Airport expansion had created a property boom.
The town’s Civic Centre had seen a boost in investment, and many schools in the area had been rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted making Wythenshawe a desirable place to live.
But as the country prepares to return to a ‘new normal,’ there are fears that what was once Europe’s biggest council housing estate, could be disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
“Many people in Wythenshawe are used to managing on very little money, so in that sense not a lot has changed,” said Coun Tracey Rawlins, who runs the Bread and Butter project. The charity allows families on lower incomes to buy discounted groceries, and has seen an uptake in usage since the beginning of lockdown.
“A lot of the families I work with are in low-paid jobs at the airport like cleaning staff or baggage handlers,” Coun Rawlins said.
“It has been a real struggle maintaining the day-to-day because there are so many families in Wythenshawe who rely on the support of friends and family.
“My worry is that a lot of people I speak to say they will deal with money problems after the pandemic is over. We are trying to help them work around that and not let things build up.”
Coun Rawlins says her main concern is how the community will be affected when the government furlough scheme ends in October.
“A lot of people at the moment are still getting an income from places like the airport, but going forward that will change,” she said.
“That is when we will see a real impact if people are faced with losing their jobs.”
Thousands of families rely on the economic benefits of Manchester Airport – which provides around 22,200 jobs – many to those living in Wythenshawe.
Since the start of the pandemic, the airport has been operating from a single terminal, with passenger numbers plummeting from an average of 80,000 to around 500.
Around 75 per cent of its staff have been furloughed, and staff have received a 10pc pay cut until next March at the earliest.
Liam Mellor works as a barman at the Lion and Antelope pub inside Terminal Three.
The 18-year-old had been saving up before going to university, before he was furloughed on 80pc pay at the start of lockdown.
“I am starting university in September and I really wanted to save up a lot of money as my maintenance loan won’t be enough to fully support me” Liam said. “I have had a look at various supermarkets but applying or even going in with my CV has been useless as nobody has got back to me.”
MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, Shadow Minister for Regional Transport Mike Kane, fears longterm financial implications for his consituency.
“We are the most indebted community in England and a lot of people are currently relying on payday loans which is very concerning,” he said. “I really worry about consumer debt in Wythenshawe getting worse. That is going to be an increasing problem.”
The MP is calling on employers to work with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s resilience unit, to help get employees back into new lines of work quickly.
“We will be OK until October with the furlough scheme but aviation is going to be the last industry back on its feet,” he added. “That is an awful lot of people affected in Wythenshawe.”
Sarah Judge is a councillor for Woodhouse Park, where the majority of residents rely on employment from the airport.
She says the lack of certainty over the future of the airport, and its employees, has left many families frightened.
“Coronavirus really has highlighted just how vulnerable some people in Wythenshawe are,” Coun Judge said.
And while the airport has been forced to cut jobs, another crucial employer in Wythenshawe has undergone a recruitment drive.
Amazon Warehouse has created hundreds of new roles in the last few months, says one warehouse packaging assistant.
The mum, from Benchill, left her old job in retail in November last year to work at the warehouse, which pays her £11.71 an hour.
“There are so many new people I don’t recognise anyone anymore. Just on packing there have been at least 100 more people on my shift,” she said. “They have been offering staff double pay for overtime so I am often working around 60 hours a week at the moment.”
Coronavirus has highlighted just how vulnerable some people in Wythenshawe are Coun Sarah Judge
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company had hired 15,000 people in full and part-time positions across the UK to meet the increase in demand.
And despite the obvious hardship felt in the wake of coronavirus, the community continues to offer support. United Estates of Wythenshawe was launched by Greg Davis in the 1990s, to help tackle gang culture among young boys on the estate. Before coronavirus, he ran a gym on Broadoak Road, which provided young people with a safe place to train and seek emotional support. Since lockdown, the charity has become a lifeline for vulnerable people with mental health issues, or those struggling to access food.
The Wythenshawe Covid-19 community group was set up at the start of lockdown, to help provide basic and urgent supplies to people isolating or shielding. Now, the Facebook group has more than 11,000 members.
“There will always be a lot of people in Wythenshawe who need support, but right now there is a much greater sense of community and a sense we are all in this together,” Coun Rawlins said.