Sentamu backs social care pay call
THE ARCHBISHOP of York has thrown his weight behind a campaign to give the social care sector an immediate £1.4bn cash boost, in order for workers to be paid the so-called Real Living Wage.
Dr John Sentamu said it was “simply unacceptable” and “morally wrong” to give care workers what he called “poverty pay” while putting them in the front line on the war against infection.
The charity Citizens UK said around 280,000 social care staff were currently in insecure and low-paid work which left them particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.
It has launched a petition asking Health Secretary Matt Hancock to ensure that all social care staff are paid at least £10.75 an hour in London and £9.30 in the rest of the UK. The figure is higher than the Government minimum of £8.72 for adults and £8.20 for those under 25.
Citizens UK said care workers,
Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York. academics, unions and teachers were among the other community leaders supporting its campaign.
Matthew Bolton, the charity’s executive director, said: “Today we are focusing on the social care sector, given the huge rates of infection in the country’s care homes.
“These incredible people go out every morning to look after our loved ones, risking their lives to do so, often on the minimum wage.
“It’s important we take the next few weeks to celebrate our key workers, but also to remember that a Real Living Wage should be the least they deserve.”
Dr Sentamu said: “It is just morally wrong to put our care workers on the front line in the face of infection and potential death, with limited personal protective equipment and to do that for poverty pay.
“For me this is simply unacceptable. I hope that if this epidemic teaches us anything, it will be to draw us back to justice, compassion and love.”
The Archbishop said he was “proud” to support the campaign to pursue priority government funding for social care.
Some 6,000 businesses across all sectors currently volunteer to pay the Real Living Wage, a name coined by campaigners who say it is the only national figure calculated according to the cost of living
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “If this crisis has made one thing clear, it’s how much we rely on key workers to support our society.
“However, with almost 40 per cent of all of our key workers earning less than the Real Living Wage, and 280,000 social care workers in underpaid and insecure work, there is an urgent need to rethink how we value and reward those working in these critical roles.
“Providing social care workers with a Real Living Wage is an excellent first step to building back better from this crisis, and we’re delighted to join a range of community leaders and cross-party politicians in supporting this campaign.”
Earlier this month it was reported that some social care nurses had seen their wages cut since the start of the pandemic.
The staff, many of whom are paid the statutory minimum wage, said they had been told the amount they received for sleeping over in a patient’s home was being cut from £55 to £42 a night.
Morally wrong to put our care workers on the front line...for poverty pay.