Immigration bill shows UK ministers value strawberries more than people needing social care
Over the past few weeks, I have been kept awake by worries about care workers. More than 130 in England and Wales have already died working on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis, having been let down by shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), a lack of testing and little recognition that they are putting their lives at risk every day.
As someone who’s been a care worker for the past 12 years and still works one morning a week, this makes me angry and very anxious for the future of social care.
There has never been a question in my mind whether care work is high or low skilled. Supporting people to live the lives they want is one of the most difficult jobs there is.
Care work is a very rewarding but hard profession that requires skills and values not everybody has: empathy, love and care. Care staff are always putting people they support before their own needs and doing whatever it takes to deliver the best quality of care possible. During this crisis care workers have had to take on new responsibilities, such as certifying causes of death or delivering wound care, that would previously have been carried out by district nurses. That is on top all of the other duties care workers perform, seemingly in the shadows with society oblivious to their contributions.
The government’s new immigration policy, which was voted through the House of Commons on Monday night, seems to ignore all of that.
It classes care workers as “low skilled”, and while special exemptions have been made for visas for fruit pickers, none have been made for care workers.
To me that means that the government values strawberries more than it
does elderly and vulnerable people and others who need care. To me it says that the amazing work care workers do every day is still not understood, recognised or respected. I am furious and saddened that yet again, social care is being ignored and pushed to the back of the queue in terms of its importance to the economy and society.
Care work is not glamorous but it is fulfilling. The deep misunderstanding of the profession and the sector as a whole has led to decades of underfunding by different governments and lack of parity with the NHS. One cannot exist without the other, with the social care workforce larger than that of the NHS. And right now both sectors are working against the pandemic that has taken over the country.
The majority of the social care workforce is on low pay, living pay cheque to pay cheque; looking after people while worrying about paying bills and feeding their children.
Those who are shielding and selfisolating are having to make tough decisions between doing the right thing and their finances.
Applications for my charity’s grants have increased 1,000% week on week compared with last year. We have been desperately fundraising to support as many people as possible. Low pay and lack of respect reinforce the notion that care work is unimportant and that the needs of care providers for staff from overseas are not a priority.
This cannot continue. On Thursday, when people “Clap for carers”, we are asking them to shout loud and clear that care workers are essential, highly skilled and of huge value to society. Most of all, we want to demand that care workers are finally acknowledged as professional, highly skilled and essential to all of us; for the sector to receive the funding it needs and to be allowed to recruit far and wide to ensure everybody gets the help they need.
Remember: one day it might be you in need of care and there may not be enough care workers around to support you. You will have your strawberries but where will be the support for your wellbeing?
Karolina Gerlich is executive director of the Care Workers’ Charity, which is fundraising to support care workers during the pandemic