Home carers balloted for action after being ‘consistently forgotten’

Home carers in Glasgow are to be balloted for industrial action as their union said it had no confidence in plans for workplace testing of Covid-19.

G MB Scotland said more than 1,700 of its members will take part in a three-week ballot over concerns at Glasgow City Council’ s Health and Social Care Partnership (HCSP). The union said services could be affected by action as early as 22 February.

It criticised the HSCP and the Scottish Government over a lack of clarity on workplace testing and claimed staff have had problems with getting the coronavirus vaccine.

G MB Scotland organiser David Hume said: “There is no confidence whatsoever among our members in their employer or the government to sufficiently protect their health and safety at work.

“And why should there be? They were failed on PP Eat the out set of this pandemic, they have been left waiting ten months for workplace testing, and some are already encountering problems getting their first vaccine.”

He added: “The HSCP should have been fighting tooth and nail for every resource to protect the safety of their employees and their service users. Instead they have been… waiting on guidance from the Scottish Government, only for ministers to leave councils carrying the can for testing delivery.

“The interests of these key workers have been consistently forgotten .”

A Glasgow H SC P spokeswoman said :“We are concerned and disappointed by the GMB statement, especially as they were provided with a detailed progress report yesterday. We take the safety of our staff very seriously.”