Glasgow City Council under fire over further cuts to care services

Tue 9 September 2014

Trade unionists, community groups and members of the public will gather in George Square later this week to lobby Glasgow City Council over proposed changes to its home care service.

The council announced plans to outsource all responsibility for assessing people who need home care services, including organising services, from their social work department to council-owned Cordia. Currently, Cordia employs most home carers in the city but the assessment of need, spending of budgets and oversight of the service is carried out by local social work staff.

The council has cited “budget pressures” – meaning future cuts – as a central reason.

The Defend Glasgow Services (DGS) campaign – a group set up by trade unions, community organisations and community campaigners – is holding a lobby on Thursday, September 11, to call on the council to reverse its decision.

Brian Smith, branch secretary of UNISON’s Glasgow City branch, said:
“This is the first time in Glasgow under a ‘purchaser/provider split’ that the provider will take on all responsibility for the assessment of a person’s need. This includes the level of service provided, people’s care reviews, responding to complaints and all spending.

“Home care services are already being reduced through shortened visits and this is just a further attack on services for the most vulnerable people in the city. It also threatens Cordia workers’ jobs, wages and conditions.

“We want Glasgow City Council to put people first by calling a halt to these changes and focus instead on investing in home care services and those who provide them.”

Under Glasgow City Council’s plans, Cordia will be given the existing home care annual budget of £50 million and be expected to deliver 10 per cent efficiencies by 2016, and further “appropriate targets” thereafter.

ENDS

'Pay up now' - UNISON demands North Lanarkshire council stops stalling on equal pay claims

Date: Friday 23 May 2014

UNISON Branch to take to streets to pressure council into fairness

UNISON North Lanarkshire is stepping up the pressure on North Lanarkshire Council in the union’s long running campaign to end the unfair treatment of low paid women. UNISON is demanding the Council settle their many outstanding equal pay claims. As well as continuing to use  internal council procedures UNISON is planning to campaign publicly with  leaflets and ad trailers.

The Council has conceded that many of the 1200 equal pay claims that UNISON has brought will be settled.  The Council has had little choice in this after admitting that it had destroyed records, altered results of assessments, and its job evaluations were not reliable

John Mooney, UNISON Branch Secretary said:

“NLC cannot continue to dodge the issue of equal pay. We have been clear all along that the Employment Tribunal claims we have lodged will prove to be successful. We call on NLC to do the right thing and settle all cases now. For an employer to purposely change job scores which lowered pay rates and to admit that they have destroyed the paperwork is astonishing and UNISON demand to know who sanctioned such disgusting behaviour.”

One of the predominant groups affected are Home Support Workers and Mooney said:

 “Home Support Workers receive poor pay for doing an extremely demanding and responsible job. They are charged with looking after our elderly and vulnerable people, but who has looked out for them? Certainly not NLC who deliberately paid lower wages than these workers deserved. 

Home Support Workers have died waiting for the Council to give them what they should rightfully have earned. UNISON has again asked the Council to hear the grievances of this group of workers and settle the matter once and for all.” 

“Despite owning up to deliberately keeping low paid workers on low pay with no justification. North Lanarkshire Council remain at Employment Tribunal spending thousands of pounds of Council Tax tax payers money defending their actions. The Council needs to face up to its responsibility to its workforce and the people of North Lanarkshire and end this charade now” 

UNISON calls on Scottish Government to invest extra £63 million from Osborne’s budget in home care services

Friday 21 March 2014

Scotland’s Finance Minister, John Swinney MSP, confirmed that Chancellor George Osborne added £63m to the Scottish budget this week.

UNISON Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to pay the living wage to all home care staff in Scotland. Two out of three home care staff work in the private or voluntary sector and they are not guaranteed the living wage. The £63 million will more than cover even the highest estimates for this policy.

Mike Kirby, UNISON’s Scottish secretary said:
‘While we share The Scottish Government’s anger at the austerity and further cuts in public spending. We also think the Scottish Government must use any extra funds to invest in Scotland’s home care service.

"It is the chance to show that the Scottish Government really do have a different set of priorities. And what higher priority is there than caring for our most vulnerable and elderly people."

Mike Kirby said:
"Our Home care service is in crisis with home care visits often restricted to 15 minutes and staff are stressed, and they are often paid below the minimum wage never mind the living wage.

"If all care staff were guaranteed the living wage it will make a big difference. It will improve staff morale and staff retention, it would allow staff to spend more time with their clients and a big step towards ending low pay”

ENDS

Notes to editors:Much of this was as a consequence of the Chancellor’s announcements to provide funds for devolved services in England. The Scottish Government receives the consequential through the Barnet Formula to spend on their own priorities.
John Swinneys response to the chancellor’s budget
http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/UK-Budget-can-t-hide-continued-cuts-a90.aspx

It’s time to care, says UNISON as survey reveals Scotland’s care crisis

A survey of Scottish homecare workers has exposed the shocking reality of the country’s care services.

The majority of workers polled in the UNISON survey believe the service is not sufficient to meet the needs of the elderly and vulnerable people they care for – both from the time they can spend and the quality of care they can provide. Almost half of carers (44%) said they were limited to specific times to spend with their clients. One in two workers are not reimbursed for travelling between client visits, while three in four said they expected the situation to get worse over the coming year.

The survey – Scotland: It’s Time to Care – also revealed that one in ten are on zero hours contracts. This is being fuelled by the way councils commission care and is leading to worse services for the elderly and some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Scots councils urged to ditch ‘care on the cheap’ 15 minute home visits

UNISON Scotland today hit out at Scottish councils over commissioning 15 minute home care visits to elderly and vulnerable people.

A Freedom of Information request shows that 28 Scottish councils commission such short visits.

UNISON wants the UK and Scottish governments to ban 15 minute care slots and is urging councils to sign up to the union’s Ethical  Home Care Charter.

Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby said: “Austerity cuts are piling pressure onto an overstretched system but it is entirely wrong that in a supposedly civilised society councils are commissioning 15 minute home care appointments.

“Any member of the public can understand that 15 minutes is not enough to provide even the most basic care, let alone to very frail clients. People with dementia also find the rush of such short visits particularly distressing.