Carers vow to fight on over back pay dispute
Renfrewshire carers have vowed to fight for “every penny that is owned to them” as their three-day strike draws to a close today.
Members of the GMB union will today march on Renfrewshire House as they aim to secure a fair deal in a years-long dispute over job roles, grading and pay.
Renfrewshire Council and its associated health and social care partnership recently offered to uplift the carers role to grade four, with a pay increase of £2.18 for base rate workers. It also pledged to backdate pay for four years.
But GMB Scotland said proposed methods for calculating back pay could leave carers shortchanged by thousands.
Kirsten Muat, GMB Scotland organiser in Renfrewshire Council, said: “The scandal here is that carers in Renfrewshire were amongst the lowest paid of all local authority areas in Scotland. Had staff been graded properly years ago, they would be higher up the pay scale by now and they deserve for that to be reflected in their new salaries.
“The detail of how and when back pay will be calculated could make thousands of pounds of difference to our members.
“This is not compensation, it is money that is owed to them, money that should have been in our members’ bank accounts years ago and should be paid without further delay.
“The council must understand that having come so far, our members are in no mood to be underpaid again and will continue to fight for every penny that is owed to them.
“They are not looking for a penny more than they are owed but will not settle for a penny less.”
Renfrewshire Council has proposed back-dating pay to 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
But GMB says carers were taking on additional responsibilities long before the pandemic and want to see the pay backdated by at least five years.
And instead of using the minimum grade four pay rate to calculate back pay, the union says the offer must acknowledge that many workers would be on the top of the grade four pay frame had their roles been reevaluated years ago.
The review of home carers’ roles and wages is the first evaluation to take place in
Renfrewshire in 16 years.
But GMB says it has failed to recognise the skills and specialist experience of staff and failed to properly assess their new responsibilities.
The care at home workers are now supporting people with complex needs, are responsible for administering medication, completing additional paper work and are often responsible for liaising with social work, NHS teams and other healthcare professionals.
The three-day action follows two days of strike action earlier this month, on April 9 and April 10. A work to rule notice has also been in force since then.
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire health and social care partnership said: “We are actively engaged in discussions with Trade Unions to seek a resolution to the ongoing dispute and remain commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all of our service users.”