Tag: care work

Pay deal settled!

Unite members will be relieved to hear that the 2022 pay deal will now be implemented – finally!

Today COSLA confirmed that the sticking points of the 1 day’s annual leave and payment of SSSC registration fees will be in perpetuity as offered and accepted by a members’ ballot.

Despite pressure being applied to accept a partial deal, Unite would like to thank you all for your continued support and determination to get the full deal.

Together we will always be strong!

D0wnload the agreed 2022/23 pay deal letter (PDF) Download

In Edinburgh

The new rates, and your backpay, will be paid on 22 December 2022.

One day annual leave will be added to your entitlement soon. As the pay deal takes effect from April, there was around a half day accrued in the last leave year. We are in discussions about how this will be added to your entitlement.

For details of the pay deal, and to see a rough calculation of what it will mean for you, see our post from September.

Home care workers—let us know your thoughts

Complete the survey for home care workers

We have been meeting with home care workers to discuss the numerous issues in the area. To make sure all home care workers can have their voice heard on the issues that matter to them, we are running a survey for all home care workers in the Council.

Take the home care workers survey

We have collated a list of what workers have raised as the most pressing issues on our home care campaign page. These include:

  • regular unpaid work for handovers
  • transport issues, including parking problems and the cost of using a car for work with rapidly rising fuel costs
  • risks due to lone working without sufficient protection.

September demo to #SaveOurCareHomes

Unite give a deputation to the EIJB at the City Chambers to protest care home closures

On 28 September, the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board met to discuss plans to change Drumbrae Care Home to a hospital based complex clinical care unit (HBCCC) and to close the NHS-run community hospital at Ferryfield.

The Council trade unions organised demos throughout the day with the support of community activists and Labour councillors. Once again, Unite gave a deputation to the EIJB to speak out against cuts to publicly owned-residential care homes, the unaccountable nature of the EIJB and the lack of consultation with staff, residents and citizens. Watch Unite’s deputation in the Council’s webcast or read it below.

Continue reading “September demo to #SaveOurCareHomes”

Do your election candidates support Unite’s care manifesto?

Unite have created a great tool to help you contact the election candidates in your area to ask if they support Unite’s care manifesto. Using your postcode, the tool automatically finds your candidates and lets you email them all, with Unite’s email template, in one go.

Contact your candidates today.

 The manifesto’s five demands are:

  1. A properly funded and publicly owned National Care Service which involves participation from the trade unions and local government.
  2. A minimum of £15 an hour for all social care workers.
  3. A minimum floor of terms and conditions for all social care workers which includes two 30 mins paid rest breaks, access to enhanced sick pay and consistent provision of pensions.
  4. The establishment of collective bargaining in all areas of social care services including the third sector and private sector.
  5. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration fee to be fully funded by the Scottish Government.

Sign our petition: 5 steps to care to protect the care sector

5 Steps to Care to protect care workers and service users

We are aware of concerns from care workers about the control of infection of COVID-19. A major concern is that agency workers are often working different shifts in different care settings.

We support agency workers making a living, but we feel that the City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection and keeping everyone safe.

Sign our 5 steps to care petition calling for the Council and employment agencies to adopt our 5 steps to care to keep staff and service users safe.

5 steps to care

City of Edinburgh Council and employment agencies must:

  1. allocate agency workers shifts in the same care setting during COVID-19
  2. strictly monitor where agency staff are working
  3. implement effective workforce planning, including increased staffing to cover absence
  4. provide all staff with appropriate PPE, that is fitted for the individual

And

  1. City of Edinburgh Council must commit to a post-COVID-19 review of the use of agency staff with a view to creating permanent roles.

Mary Alexander, Deputy Regional Secretary of Unite, commented

I have written to the Council about asking for a review of procedures and a plan of action to keep all workers (including agency workers) and residents in care homes safe.  This is particularly important given the increasing numbers of care home residents dying with Covid related illness and the fatalities among care workers.