The cost-of-living crisis will be on UNISON member Cherry Lenaghan’s mind when she enters the voting booth on 7 May
by Demetrios Matheou
“Where do I start? Life has never been harder.” This is the first response from Cherry Lenaghan when she’s asked to speak about the day-to-day problems she’s facing as a single mother in today’s Britain. To say that the 40-year-old from Cambridgeshire is up against it would be an understatement.
Cherry has two daughters, both of whom live at home, in a village outside Ely: 21-year-old Amber, who is currently pregnant, and five-year-old Maia. Their mother is the breadwinner, working for the charity Action for Children, in a children’s short-term unit, for kids with learning difficulties.
Having been transferred from Cambridgeshire County Council under TUPE, Cherry has a 7.5-hour contract, with additional relief hours that give her around 30-40 hours a week. In the seven years that she’s been at the unit her pay hasn’t increased. She also has to pay her own transport costs, which involve taking a taxi, train then bus from her village to the unit in Cambridge.
On top of that, she has a rare illness, resulting in chronic pain and mobility issues. There is only one known treatment – which her PCT refuses to pay for.
“I’m so angry at this government,” she says. “These days I have to work every available hour I can to survive, to raise my family, just to put some kind of food on the table.
“The pay started off okay, but seven years later I’m on the same rate. Given inflation and living costs going through the roof, nowadays it’s worth peanuts. I have to work harder than ever before, and I’m getting poorer.”
And like thousands of people in her situation, food and bills are about all she can manage.
“I can’t afford to get out and about, to have a social life or take my daughters out. My youngest used to do ballet, but at the moment I can’t afford her classes. I would love to take her swimming or to the cinema or the theatre – having quality time with my children and some nice recovery time for myself, from work.
“But I’ve become a social hermit, stuck at home. There’s no money, and there’s no energy left at the end of the day to do anything anyway.”
While the day-to-day finances are tough, like many in her situation Cherry is also worried about the future.
“I’m 40 years old and have never had enough money to put into a pension fund. Once I pay my bills there’s nothing left. A pension is just not an option. So I’m actually concerned about how I would survive if I reach retirement. It’s a depressing thought.
“I know I’m not unique. We talk about these things all the time at work. Everyone has to work hard to keep afloat. It just seems to be getting worse for all of us, which is a scary. Where does it stop?”
Sadly, there is one way in which Cherry is quite unique. She suffers from Dercum Disease, a rare condition that results in abnormal weight, leading to chronic pain and mobility issues. Triggered by her second pregnancy, it now has “massive implications” for her quality of life.
There is some medication. But there is always pain. “Some days are worse than others. Five years ago I would have said I couldn’t cope. I couldn’t imagine living with it for another week, let alone five years. But you adapt. Now I can’t remember what it was like not to be in pain.”
In ensuring her family’s stability, Cherry is working constantly through that pain.
It’s not surprising that a woman whose vocation is to work with children in need was also a St John’s volunteer.
But it’s also typical, these days, that in her own time of need, she’s effectively hung out to dry.
Cherry perseveres, showing a lot of determination and common sense in the process, even enlisting her MP to fight her cause with the PCT, albeit to no avail.
Her determination is “a coping mechanism”, she says. “I can’t allow myself to get stressed. I have to be positive – especially for my kids.”
Can your job survive another five years of Tory government?
Under this government, the price of essential goods and services such as housing, food and bills has increased, but wages have fallen behind. This means that real incomes are falling and people are worse off. Working families are struggling to pay their bills and manage their finances.
Labour has said that all decisions relating to public-service pay will be rooted in fairness. They have said that they will renew their commitment to the workforce, finding fair ways of setting pay, including respect for collective agreements, pay review bodies and equal pay.
People working in public services have seen their pay squeezed for five years. UNISON has campaigned, negotiated and taken strike action in most sectors to push for fair pay. Only a change in government will help us to help you get the pay you deserve.
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To find out more about the general election, visit our election pages at unison.org.uk/ge2015.