Angry care staff form picket lines in protest over ‘revolting’offer

Renfrewshire care staff, who support people living in their own homes, stood on picket lines yesterday as they branded a proposed pay deal “revolting”.

GMB Scotland members had voted overwhelmingly in support of a two-day strike which concludes today, as well as a long-running overtime ban.

Renfrewshire Council is currently proposing a 67p pay increase for carers, bringing the hourly rate to £12.96.

However, the union says the fee fails to recognise the crucial role, skills and specialist experience care staff have garnered since the last review of roles was completed in 2007.

Renfrewshire workers gathered at picket lines across the local authority area, while colleagues in West Dunbartonshire and Falkirk also staged protests.

Christine Kelly, who has been a carer for 15 years, says the pay offered by Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership is “revolting”.

Christine told the Express yesterday morning: “We are not paid our value. We do a lot more than what we are paid for and we deserve to be paid for it.

“Our responsibility has increased but our wages haven’t, and they haven’t for years. We’ve not had a job evaluation for years, the last one was in 2007 and that’s when the recession was.

“The pay offer is insulting, it’s a kick in the teeth.

“We are in a cost-of-living crisis and nobody wants to be underpaid.

“This latest offer is an insult, it’s devaluing, we aren’t even paid for what we do and a lot of what we do isn’t even recognised.”

In Renfrewshire, the union said the first review of care workers’ roles in 16 years did not recognise the skills and specialist experience of staff and failed to properly assess their new responsibilities of delivering complex care and support.

Gwenda Helie has been a carer for seven years in the Lochfield area and says her job has “massively changed”.

“People think home help is when we do the ironing, wash the dishes and go collect the pensions, but it’s more than that,” she explained.

“It’s catheter care, stoma care, medication, end of life care which includes providing guidance and support to families. We work with people with alcohol problems, mental health difficulties, learning difficulties and all of that is undervalued.

“It can be a hugely stressful and emotionally challenging job, it’s not just popping in and doing the hoovering.”

She added: “We have been expected to do more for years and we have been because we care for our clients and that’s been taken advantage of.

“Just before Christmas I had to do CPR on a client, on my own until the ambulance could attend.

“The job is more medical and more hands on than people realise and we aren’t being paid for it. Our goodwill and commitment to the people we care for has been taken advantage of.”

Isabelle Johnstone has been in the industry for 17 years and she added: “This is breaking point for us and this has been coming for a while.”

Kirsten Muat, GMB Scotland organiser at Renfrewshire Council said: “These staff members are the foundation of care in our communities offering life-changing support for some of the most vulnerable people in Renfrewshire, many with complex medical and emotional needs. These workers must be given the pay their role and responsibilities deserve.”

Members of Unison halted their planned strike yesterday following a last-minute offer from Renfrewshire Council and the health and social care partnership.

Management agreed that the carers role would be independently evaluated before the corresponding pay grade would be discussed. There was also some movement around backdated pay.

Mark Ferguson, secretary of Renfrewshire Unison, said that while details still needed to be ironed out, the offer was “much closer” to what the union and its members had been campaigning for.

He said: “The negotiations have not concluded but what they have offered has been sufficient enough for us to suspend action to allow us to continue negotiations and put this proposal to our members.”

A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We remain in discussions with the trade unions regarding a proposed resolution to the ongoing dispute and have asked that unions postpone plans for industrial action.

“We are committed to finding a resolution to this ongoing situation to minimise disruption for those in need of our Care at Home services.”