Sturgeon calls out Trump
“We told employers and government that a testing regime is undermined if it does not go hand in hand with full sick pay, and without it tens of thousands of low paid workers, and mainly women, face poverty in sickness.
“HC-One has now recognised this scandal and their decision is the right thing to do.
“The changes GMB has won for HC-One workers across the country should act as a trigger for full coverage across the private care sector – no excuses.”
HC-One charges an average of £746 a week for a care home resident, which is an increase of 4.5% on the previous year. Its accounts show last year a gross profit of more than £20m but an after tax and other costs profit of £3.2m.
A spokeswoman for HC-One said: “Whilst significant cost pressures on local authority-focused care providers still exist, we’ve been listening to the feedback of our Colleagues on how coronavirus has impacted them from a financial and well-being perspective.
“We’re proud of their courage and determination in tackling coronavirus and recognising and rewarding their endeavours is the right thing to do.
“We’re therefore delighted to implement a new sick pay policy that provides greater support to our colleagues on the front line.
“This will sit alongside our existing well-being package, which includes access to online GPs and 24/7 counselling and mental health support, as well as our new grief and bereavement support service which has been introduced to support homes following the coronavirus pandemic.”
NICOLA Sturgeon has urged US President Donald Trump to “be more responsible” in his public messaging over coronavirus.
The First Minister was asked about the possibility of a G7 summit taking place in the US, after Trump said he aims to reschedule the event, which was cancelled due to the virus.
The First Minister said: “I say this not just as the leader of a government, I say this as a citizen – I would like to see the president of the United States, in his demeanour and public utterances around dealing with this virus, be just a little bit more responsible.
“We laugh sometimes about previous comments about disinfectant and some of the comments he’s made recently about testing, but it’s so important that we give clear advice.”
The changes GMB has won should act as a trigger