EVEN before the coronavirus pandemic, the new head of Scotland’s trade union movement was worried about the future of work. Roz Foyer was announced as the new general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) in February, making her the first woman to take on the role and the first new leader in almost 15 years.

She won’t officially take up the job until the end of June, when departing general secretary Grahame Smith retires.

The former benefits centre telephonist hadn’t anticipated starting this new post with “the nation in meltdown”.

But with Smith on leave prior to his final day, and in her temporary capacity as general secretary designate, it’s up to Foyer to lead the umbrella body’s response to the global pandemic that has left workers in fear for both their health and their jobs as its lethal spread infects the economy.

And, as the new voice of the union movement, she’s worried about what it means for her family and households across the country.

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For every headline about the deadly cost of the coronavirus in hospitals and homes there’s another about how the pandemic and measures to control it are affecting workers.

Furlough and PPE (protective personal equipment) have entered everyday conversation for perhaps the first time, while news of another company collapse, more pay cuts, further restrictions on movement, earnings and conditions continue.

The Oasis and Warehouse fashion chains entered administration earlier this week and Durham University research published on Friday suggests almost one-third of Scottish businesses could go under.

Meanwhile, debate rages amongst staff still expected to sit in call centres selling TV subscriptions and mobile phones about what exactly is the definition of essential and non-essential work.

Even British Airways has had to warn workers there is no going back to normal, and the taxpayer cannot continue to foot the wage bill for its thousands of staff through the UK Government’s crisis support scheme.

“It gives you a sense of the magnitude of the situation if companies like BA are saying they aren’t in a position to weather the storm,” says Foyer, who backs capping remuneration for company directors to keep more cash in the economy. “Things are never going to be the same again.

“The economic impact is going to be very far-reaching and will last for a long time.”

The STUC has had to act fast to respond to the changes sweeping every region and sector. On Friday the traditional gatherings marking May Day were replaced with virtual events and a meeting with the Scottish Government as the organisation launched a new campaign calling for an immediate £2-an-hour pay rise for all Scotland’s key workers.

For the UK as a whole, one-third of people in these occupations – NHS staff, carers, factory workers, government employees, supermarket teams and more – earn less than £10 an hour, despite their work to keep lifeline services and essential systems like welfare and transport running.

Most key workers are women and many are migrants.

Far from being the great leveller suggested by the UK Government, Foyer says, it has simply intensified and highlighted the “stark” inequalities in our society. “This is holding a mirror up to how our society is structured,” she says. “It’s shown up some of the worst inequalities.

“People have died, but care workers are really struggling to access testing and PPE is still an issue for them. Over half of people still expected to work in call centres feel like not enough safety measures have been put in place. Workers are feeling pretty powerless.

“There are huge issues around enforcement of the coronavirus working guidance and regulations in place. When you have a situation where you are relying on employers to determine whether they meet that guidance or not, you need an independent body that can go in there in an enforcement or monitoring role to deal with the issues we’ve been seeing.

“More than anything else, we need to put people before profit.”

READ MORE: Calls for immediate pay rise for all key workers

FOYER acknowledges that this phrase has become a soundbite, but insists it must be more than this. “You can’t cut back on public services and have 10 years of austerity and expect to be ready for a pandemic like this,” she says. “The UK is one of the worst countries in the world for coronavirus. We have to face up to that.

“Decisions made in the past that can’t be undone are contributing to deaths happening now.

“We have massive issues with health and safety, the fragmentation of work, zero-hours contracts.”

Foyer says health and safety reps have “never been busier” and union teams across Scotland’s workplaces are “fighting tooth and nail” for their members.

Meanwhile, she says the STUC is taking “countless” calls groups in non-unionised workplaces seeking help.

Despite the demand, Foyer admits there is a “worry” that some union members may withdraw to save their subs as the crunch on household budgets intensifies. “My message would be there has never been a more vital time to keep your union membership up,” she says. “If we don’t have the strength of numbers, we’ll not be able to push back.”

As well as thinking about her members, Foyer admits the future for her daughters, aged 13 and 11, is also on her mind.

“I was already extremely concerned about what the world of work was going to look like for my daughters well before this crisis,” she says. “The level of zero-hours contracts, the fragmentation of the labour market and seriously bad conditions that workers work through were all challenging enough.

‘‘The fact that there’s a pandemic out there and despite that many, many jobs do not get unionised representation and workers don’t have a way of pushing back and demanding fairness just makes it even more concerning.

“We can only hope that out of all the real tragedy unfolding across our nation at this moment that will grow something better and we’ll be able to rebuild an economy that puts people first.”