Fourteen people have already walked through the doors of The Rosmini Centre today after being laid off because of the coronavirus lockdown. They’re now desperately looking for work.
Anita Grodkiewicz, the centre’s manager, is concerned ‘the situation is only going to get worse’ and is urging businesses that need a workforce during the lockdown to get in touch.
She said: “I know people urgently looking for work.
“These are people who are in a situation where they have to work despite the lockdown. They were paid up this week, given their week’s notice and their P45s - and are having to get on with finding work.
“They will be homeless and on the streets if they don’t get something very, very soon. I’m appealing to all businesses looking for staff to please get in touch with me at The Rosmini Centre, and I will pass your details to people coming to us.
“I also have an arrangement where I can fast track DBS checks as well, so get in touch if you’re looking for temporary care staff because I can help handle that process for you.”
The Rosmini Centre in Wisbech has been offering coronavirus advice in Latvian, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian and Bulgarian.
Yesterday (Tuesday) the centre in Queen’s Road had two visitors outline their experience, and today many more are dealing with similar circumstances.
The reason why Anita has taken matters into her own hands is because people have been struggling with to get through to the official agencies.
“I have a feeling the whole situation is only going to get worse,” she said.
Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “Universal Credit is delivering in these unprecedented times, with almost half a million people successfully claiming in the last nine days.
“The system is standing up to the challenge, but with a tenfold increase in claims it is inevitable that there are pressures on our services. If you are a new claimant you should go online to start your claim.
“We are taking urgent action to boost capacity, including moving 10,000 existing staff to work on new claims with 1,000 already in place, and will recruit a further 1,500 staff to aid the effort.
“I’m hugely grateful to all our staff who are working extremely hard in difficult circumstances to process claims at pace.”
If your business is looking for workers, contact Anita on anita@rosmini-wisbech.org with information about the roles you need filled.
- Have you lost your job overnight because of the coronavirus lockdown? Get in touch with louise.hepburn@archant.co.uk with your story.
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