Category: Christina McAnea

Blog: Investing in you is investing in our schools and in our pupils

Our streets, villages, towns and cities only thrive when unsung heroes roll up their sleeves to keep our public services going. In every neighbourhood, it’s local government workers who everyone relies on.

And every day, UNISON campaigns to improve their pay and recognition for their essential work.

From maintaining roads to ensuring public safety, their roles are indispensable. But workers find themselves grappling with inadequate pay and shrinking budgets in their workplaces. Pay fails to reflect the value of their work, and local council funding fails to keep up with the need in our communities.

UNISON Scotland has been taking action. On behalf of all local government workers in Scotland, waste workers took strike action last week. And now we’re asking school staff to vote for a second wave of walkouts.

So if you’re one of our members working in a school in Scotland, you have just one week left to vote for strike action. The dispute over pay is at a critical point, as COSLA hasn’t come back with an improved offer since April.

We must demand that you are valued and paid fairly. Investing in you, is also an investment in the future of our schools and all pupils.

UNISON wants a fair deal for all Scottish local government workers. A 12% pay increase, or £4,000 – whichever is greater for each worker – was our claim. But COSLA’s 5% offer goes nowhere near that and was rightly rejected by our members.

Tonight, we’ll be rallying online at 6pm. Join us via YouTube, and encourage your colleagues to join too. You’ll hear from myself and your local government reps, encouraging you all to find that purple envelope that came through the post, cast your ‘yes’ vote and post it back.

You’re the backbone of society, keeping services going despite all you face. This is your chance to stand up for yourselves the way you stand up for your communities every day in your jobs.

UNISON will be with you, supporting you throughout this battle and beyond. By voting for strike action, you can be a beacon of hope for all workers – hope that we are one step closer to rewriting the story of local government into one of fair pay, respect and recognition.

The article Blog: Investing in you is investing in our schools and in our pupils first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Influencing the next Labour government

After 13 years of Tory failures in Westminster, our economy is weaker, our living standards are lower, and our country is poorer. Britain is clearly broken.

Over the weekend, our UNISON delegation spent long hours in intense negotiations with the Labour party at the National Policy Forum.

Our mission was to get UNISON’s priorities on pay, public services, social care, workers’ and trade union rights, and equalities into Labour’s policy platform for their next manifesto.

That manifesto must be election-winning, because despite Labour riding high in the polls over the past year, they’ve lost the last four general elections.

Throughout that time, our members’ lives have been made worse under successive Tory governments. We need a fundamental shift of power and prosperity back into workers’ hands.

Austerity

Labour cannot return to austerity – we need investment, not ideologically-driven Tory cuts that weaken public services, our economy, and cause endemic low pay in our society.

We secured that anti-austerity commitment, which sets the scene on how Labour would govern. And the party’s pledge to start the biggest wave of insourcing will mean more public services will be back in public hands.

Pay

On pay, discriminatory adult age bands will be removed from the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and Labour will make sure the cost of living is part of the remit of the Low Pay Commission.

They’ve committed to enforcing NMW payments for travel time for those who work across multiple sites, and taking action on exploitative practices. Labour’s New Deal for Working People also committed to Fair Pay Agreements, and the first one of these will be in adult social care.

Local government

We’ve made sure that Labour in power will mean better things for local government. A different approach, where the proceeds of growth from a recovering economy will be channelled into the hearts of local communities. And a recognition that investment in local councils is key to generating that growth too. As part of their Take Back Control bill, they’ve committed to ensuring long-term stability in funding settlements for councils.

Education

On education, we secured a commitment to establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. Something I feel personally very strongly about, as I led the negotiations with the last Labour government to get this set up. Unfortunately, it was just before the 2010 general election, and so the Body fell when Labour lost the election.

Health and social care

As most of our members know, we’ve been campaigning for a National Social Care Service for many years. Labour have committed to establishing one that promotes public sector and non-profit service delivery, has zero tolerance for providers who extract huge profits in opaque and irresponsible ways, or have poor conditions for their workforce, and they’ll ensure national standards on pay and bargaining for care workers.

We’ve also secured commitments that the NHS will be safe in Labour’s hands, as a publicly-funded service, free at the point of use, and delivering secure healthcare for all. An unequivocal commitment that our NHS is not up for sale.

Equalities

We went into the negotiations with a determination to get a decent equalities package. On behalf of UNISON, I’ve been asking the government to commit to the recommendations made in the Windrush Review. They aren’t budging, but Labour has given us that commitment for when they’re in government.

Labour’s new Race Equality Act will introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting and action plans for large employers. The same will also be true for disabled workers. Large firms will be required to develop, publish and implement action plans to close their gender pay gaps and they’ll ensure outsourced workers are included in their gender pay gap and pay ratio reporting.

Labour will ensure that reasonable adjustments are secured more quickly, they’ll honour the commitments of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Public Sector Equality Duty will extend to any contract carrying out public functions.

Anti-trade union laws

As the largest trade union in the UK, removing barriers and restrictions on trade unions recruiting, organising, and taking action is key for us. Removing anti-trade union laws and ensuring the right of access for trade unions will mean an important shift of power to something more fitting for a civilised society.

These are just some of the highlights of what we got out of the National Policy Forum process. UNISON worked jointly with all Labour’s affiliated unions to secure the best deal possible, but our work will carry on right up until the next general election.

We will continue to influence the Labour party, as they flesh out their election pledges, so our members can vote for a new government they can have confidence in to deliver a better future for them.

The article Blog: Influencing the next Labour government first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: Influencing the next Labour government

After 13 years of Tory failures in Westminster, our economy is weaker, our living standards are lower, and our country is poorer. Britain is clearly broken.

Over the weekend, our UNISON delegation spent long hours in intense negotiations with the Labour party at the National Policy Forum.

Our mission was to get UNISON’s priorities on pay, public services, social care, workers’ and trade union rights, and equalities into Labour’s policy platform for their next manifesto.

That manifesto must be election-winning, because despite Labour riding high in the polls over the past year, they’ve lost the last four general elections.

Throughout that time, our members’ lives have been made worse under successive Tory governments. We need a fundamental shift of power and prosperity back into workers’ hands.

Austerity

Labour cannot return to austerity – we need investment, not ideologically-driven Tory cuts that weaken public services, our economy, and cause endemic low pay in our society.

We secured that anti-austerity commitment, which sets the scene on how Labour would govern. And the party’s pledge to start the biggest wave of insourcing will mean more public services will be back in public hands.

Pay

On pay, discriminatory adult age bands will be removed from the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and Labour will make sure the cost of living is part of the remit of the Low Pay Commission.

They’ve committed to enforcing NMW payments for travel time for those who work across multiple sites, and taking action on exploitative practices. Labour’s New Deal for Working People also committed to Fair Pay Agreements, and the first one of these will be in adult social care.

Local government

We’ve made sure that Labour in power will mean better things for local government. A different approach, where the proceeds of growth from a recovering economy will be channelled into the hearts of local communities. And a recognition that investment in local councils is key to generating that growth too. As part of their Take Back Control bill, they’ve committed to ensuring long-term stability in funding settlements for councils.

Education

On education, we secured a commitment to establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. Something I feel personally very strongly about, as I led the negotiations with the last Labour government to get this set up. Unfortunately, it was just before the 2010 general election, and so the Body fell when Labour lost the election.

Health and social care

As most of our members know, we’ve been campaigning for a National Social Care Service for many years. Labour have committed to establishing one that promotes public sector and non-profit service delivery, has zero tolerance for providers who extract huge profits in opaque and irresponsible ways, or have poor conditions for their workforce, and they’ll ensure national standards on pay and bargaining for care workers.

We’ve also secured commitments that the NHS will be safe in Labour’s hands, as a publicly-funded service, free at the point of use, and delivering secure healthcare for all. An unequivocal commitment that our NHS is not up for sale.

Equalities

We went into the negotiations with a determination to get a decent equalities package. On behalf of UNISON, I’ve been asking the government to commit to the recommendations made in the Windrush Review. They aren’t budging, but Labour has given us that commitment for when they’re in government.

Labour’s new Race Equality Act will introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting and action plans for large employers. The same will also be true for disabled workers. Large firms will be required to develop, publish and implement action plans to close their gender pay gaps and they’ll ensure outsourced workers are included in their gender pay gap and pay ratio reporting.

Labour will ensure that reasonable adjustments are secured more quickly, they’ll honour the commitments of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Public Sector Equality Duty will extend to any contract carrying out public functions.

Anti-trade union laws

As the largest trade union in the UK, removing barriers and restrictions on trade unions recruiting, organising, and taking action is key for us. Removing anti-trade union laws and ensuring the right of access for trade unions will mean an important shift of power to something more fitting for a civilised society.

These are just some of the highlights of what we got out of the National Policy Forum process. UNISON worked jointly with all Labour’s affiliated unions to secure the best deal possible, but our work will carry on right up until the next general election.

We will continue to influence the Labour party, as they flesh out their election pledges, so our members can vote for a new government they can have confidence in to deliver a better future for them.

The article Blog: Influencing the next Labour government first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: The two-child limit is still cruel now and should be abolished

Last week, I spoke on the BBC’s Politics Live about the need for a proper debate on funding for public services in this country. Public services aren’t just the A&E services we use when something goes horribly wrong, they’re a part of our lives, every day, and that’s exactly how it should be.

A strong society relies on strong public services and a government that believes in building a supportive state. That state needs to give services the funds they need, pay the workforce fairly, and put an extra safety net in place for people when things go wrong in their lives.

It’s been 14 years since George Osborne’s austerity policy started cutting our public services to the bone. And look where we are now. An economy that has barely grown, living standards being hammered, flourishing inequality and a feeling of hopelessness about our futures. It’s obvious to most that austerity has failed.

Part of that austerity policy was to start stripping away at the safety net too. The introduction of the two-child limit for child tax credits and universal credit was Osborne’s idea to encourage parents of larger families to find a job, or work more hours.

UNISON has always campaigned against it because punishing children to ‘encourage’ their parents is not only cruel, but it totally misunderstands the root causes of poverty.

Low pay is the biggest culprit. In-work poverty, extortionate childcare costs and the scandal of the rising cost of living are all products of political choices, and so is this policy. And along with cuts to public services, it has failed too – research shows that rather than increasing employment, it has impoverished families.

UNISON is clear that good political choices result in economic growth that’s shared fairly across everyone in society, and a dramatic reduction in the number of families who are forced to rely on support.

But until that happens, critical safety nets for children must be put back in place. And all politicians should reject any policy that’s proven to impoverish families, and that clearly punishes innocent children.

The article Blog: The two-child limit is still cruel now and should be abolished first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: The two-child limit is still cruel now and should be abolished

Last week, I spoke on the BBC’s Politics Live about the need for a proper debate on funding for public services in this country. Public services aren’t just the A&E services we use when something goes horribly wrong, they’re a part of our lives, every day, and that’s exactly how it should be.

A strong society relies on strong public services and a government that believes in building a supportive state. That state needs to give services the funds they need, pay the workforce fairly, and put an extra safety net in place for people when things go wrong in their lives.

It’s been 14 years since George Osborne’s austerity policy started cutting our public services to the bone. And look where we are now. An economy that has barely grown, living standards being hammered, flourishing inequality and a feeling of hopelessness about our futures. It’s obvious to most that austerity has failed.

Part of that austerity policy was to start stripping away at the safety net too. The introduction of the two-child limit for child tax credits and universal credit was Osborne’s idea to encourage parents of larger families to find a job, or work more hours.

UNISON has always campaigned against it because punishing children to ‘encourage’ their parents is not only cruel, but it totally misunderstands the root causes of poverty.

Low pay is the biggest culprit. In-work poverty, extortionate childcare costs and the scandal of the rising cost of living are all products of political choices, and so is this policy. And along with cuts to public services, it has failed too – research shows that rather than increasing employment, it has impoverished families.

UNISON is clear that good political choices result in economic growth that’s shared fairly across everyone in society, and a dramatic reduction in the number of families who are forced to rely on support.

But until that happens, critical safety nets for children must be put back in place. And all politicians should reject any policy that’s proven to impoverish families, and that clearly punishes innocent children.

The article Blog: The two-child limit is still cruel now and should be abolished first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON 

More than a million public service workers including care staff, district nurses, housing officers, police staff and probation officers are being left thousands of pounds out of pocket because ministers have failed to update national mileage rates, says a UNISON report published today (Friday).

NHS, social care, police and local government employees who need to drive for work are up to £6,000 a year worse off because the current 45p rate, set by HM Revenue and Customs, has not changed in over a decade, according to research by the union and the RAC Foundation.

The report Driven Out of Work says the allowance should be 63.4p a mile based on increased motoring costs and inflation.

This financial ‘mileage gap’ means public sector workers – who need to travel as part of their jobs – are effectively subsidising their employers for their work-related journeys, says the report.

UNISON says this is having a major impact on frontline staff, of whom at least one in five is required to drive for work, according to the findings.

Driven Out of Work says some staff are using up annual leave rather than go into work or calling in sick because they have run out of fuel and cannot afford to fill up their vehicles.

Some social care employees say they’ve had to sell their cars to cover essential payments, such as housing or energy bills, and have had to shift to public transport so they can visit the people they care for.

But having to use buses and trains to get around increases the travel time for staff and reduces the number of visits they can make and people they can see.

UNISON is urging the government to bring in the 63.4p rate, act on low wages and give hospitals and local authorities the funding so they can invest in public sector electric vehicle fleets.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Mileage rates are woefully out of date. No one should pay a penalty effectively for doing their job, least of all those providing vital services.

“Petrol prices have skyrocketed. Care workers, nurses and other frontline employees can barely make their incomes stretch to cover the basics, let alone the costs of using their vehicles for work.

“The government must tackle low pay now, not threaten to hold public sector wages down. Essential staff shouldn’t be out of pocket for going to work. A failure to act now risks worsening the already dire staffing crisis.”

Notes to editors:
– Click here for an executive summary of Driven Out of Work. The findings are based on two UNISON surveys which took place in March. One was of 957 public service workers across the UK who use a vehicle for their job; and the other was on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and featured the responses of 17,787 public service workers in the UK, of whom 3,452 travel by car for work.
– Case studies (all names have been changed): Mike, a homecare worker and single parent from Aberdeenshire, said: “The increase in petrol is what is hitting me the most. To travel to clients’ homes in rural locations, 42p per mile is just not cutting it. I’m doing on average 61 miles per six-hour shift. It’s getting to the point where I’m cutting back at home so I can afford to work.”
– Samina, an NHS worker in Leicester, said: “I can’t afford to top my car up to see patients in their homes. I have sleepless nights as a result. I’m now thinking of leaving a job I love.”
– Sonia, a care worker in Scotland, said: “My job involves driving up to four hours a day to visit children who are vulnerable or in care. Sometimes, I have to drive those placed temporarily in care to supervised visits with their parents. I don’t know how I’d afford to fill up the car for work without using credit cards. It takes two months to process my expenses claim so I end up cutting down on the food shop and other basics.”
– Kate, who supports rough sleepers in Norfolk, said: “I drive my own car for over two hours every day to visit rough sleeper sites and support them with accommodation and other issues. I can’t afford to keep doing this. I spend more on fuel than I get back from the council. Sometimes I even skip meals to ensure I can keep filling up my car.”
– Deanna, a social care worker in Cambridgeshire, said: “I visit people in their homes to assess them and transport equipment and documentation. This is to help them get discharged from hospital and free up beds. I drive around 10,000 miles a year. I really feel the pinch every time I fill up my car or renew my insurance.”
– Roger, a school counsellor from Scotland said: “I have to drive around 450 miles a month to visit different schools. I spent extra on a hybrid car try to keep costs down and minimise my environmental impact. But it’s still around £300 a month and I only get a fraction of that back. My contract states I have to have access to a car, so I use up my allowed miles for work and cut down on seeing friends and family.”
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk

The article Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON  first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON 

More than a million public service workers including care staff, district nurses, housing officers, police staff and probation officers are being left thousands of pounds out of pocket because ministers have failed to update national mileage rates, says a UNISON report published today (Friday).

NHS, social care, police and local government employees who need to drive for work are up to £6,000 a year worse off because the current 45p rate, set by HM Revenue and Customs, has not changed in over a decade, according to research by the union and the RAC Foundation.

The report Driven Out of Work says the allowance should be 63.4p a mile based on increased motoring costs and inflation.

This financial ‘mileage gap’ means public sector workers – who need to travel as part of their jobs – are effectively subsidising their employers for their work-related journeys, says the report.

UNISON says this is having a major impact on frontline staff, of whom at least one in five is required to drive for work, according to the findings.

Driven Out of Work says some staff are using up annual leave rather than go into work or calling in sick because they have run out of fuel and cannot afford to fill up their vehicles.

Some social care employees say they’ve had to sell their cars to cover essential payments, such as housing or energy bills, and have had to shift to public transport so they can visit the people they care for.

But having to use buses and trains to get around increases the travel time for staff and reduces the number of visits they can make and people they can see.

UNISON is urging the government to bring in the 63.4p rate, act on low wages and give hospitals and local authorities the funding so they can invest in public sector electric vehicle fleets.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Mileage rates are woefully out of date. No one should pay a penalty effectively for doing their job, least of all those providing vital services.

“Petrol prices have skyrocketed. Care workers, nurses and other frontline employees can barely make their incomes stretch to cover the basics, let alone the costs of using their vehicles for work.

“The government must tackle low pay now, not threaten to hold public sector wages down. Essential staff shouldn’t be out of pocket for going to work. A failure to act now risks worsening the already dire staffing crisis.”

Notes to editors:
– Click here for an executive summary of Driven Out of Work. The findings are based on two UNISON surveys which took place in March. One was of 957 public service workers across the UK who use a vehicle for their job; and the other was on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and featured the responses of 17,787 public service workers in the UK, of whom 3,452 travel by car for work.
– Case studies (all names have been changed): Mike, a homecare worker and single parent from Aberdeenshire, said: “The increase in petrol is what is hitting me the most. To travel to clients’ homes in rural locations, 42p per mile is just not cutting it. I’m doing on average 61 miles per six-hour shift. It’s getting to the point where I’m cutting back at home so I can afford to work.”
– Samina, an NHS worker in Leicester, said: “I can’t afford to top my car up to see patients in their homes. I have sleepless nights as a result. I’m now thinking of leaving a job I love.”
– Sonia, a care worker in Scotland, said: “My job involves driving up to four hours a day to visit children who are vulnerable or in care. Sometimes, I have to drive those placed temporarily in care to supervised visits with their parents. I don’t know how I’d afford to fill up the car for work without using credit cards. It takes two months to process my expenses claim so I end up cutting down on the food shop and other basics.”
– Kate, who supports rough sleepers in Norfolk, said: “I drive my own car for over two hours every day to visit rough sleeper sites and support them with accommodation and other issues. I can’t afford to keep doing this. I spend more on fuel than I get back from the council. Sometimes I even skip meals to ensure I can keep filling up my car.”
– Deanna, a social care worker in Cambridgeshire, said: “I visit people in their homes to assess them and transport equipment and documentation. This is to help them get discharged from hospital and free up beds. I drive around 10,000 miles a year. I really feel the pinch every time I fill up my car or renew my insurance.”
– Roger, a school counsellor from Scotland said: “I have to drive around 450 miles a month to visit different schools. I spent extra on a hybrid car try to keep costs down and minimise my environmental impact. But it’s still around £300 a month and I only get a fraction of that back. My contract states I have to have access to a car, so I use up my allowed miles for work and cut down on seeing friends and family.”
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk

The article Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON  first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON 

More than a million public service workers including care staff, district nurses, housing officers, police staff and probation officers are being left thousands of pounds out of pocket because ministers have failed to update national mileage rates, says a UNISON report published today (Friday).

NHS, social care, police and local government employees who need to drive for work are up to £6,000 a year worse off because the current 45p rate, set by HM Revenue and Customs, has not changed in over a decade, according to research by the union and the RAC Foundation.

The report Driven Out of Work says the allowance should be 63.4p a mile based on increased motoring costs and inflation.

This financial ‘mileage gap’ means public sector workers – who need to travel as part of their jobs – are effectively subsidising their employers for their work-related journeys, says the report.

UNISON says this is having a major impact on frontline staff, of whom at least one in five is required to drive for work, according to the findings.

Driven Out of Work says some staff are using up annual leave rather than go into work or calling in sick because they have run out of fuel and cannot afford to fill up their vehicles.

Some social care employees say they’ve had to sell their cars to cover essential payments, such as housing or energy bills, and have had to shift to public transport so they can visit the people they care for.

But having to use buses and trains to get around increases the travel time for staff and reduces the number of visits they can make and people they can see.

UNISON is urging the government to bring in the 63.4p rate, act on low wages and give hospitals and local authorities the funding so they can invest in public sector electric vehicle fleets.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Mileage rates are woefully out of date. No one should pay a penalty effectively for doing their job, least of all those providing vital services.

“Petrol prices have skyrocketed. Care workers, nurses and other frontline employees can barely make their incomes stretch to cover the basics, let alone the costs of using their vehicles for work.

“The government must tackle low pay now, not threaten to hold public sector wages down. Essential staff shouldn’t be out of pocket for going to work. A failure to act now risks worsening the already dire staffing crisis.”

Notes to editors:
– Click here for an executive summary of Driven Out of Work. The findings are based on two UNISON surveys which took place in March. One was of 957 public service workers across the UK who use a vehicle for their job; and the other was on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and featured the responses of 17,787 public service workers in the UK, of whom 3,452 travel by car for work.
– Case studies (all names have been changed): Mike, a homecare worker and single parent from Aberdeenshire, said: “The increase in petrol is what is hitting me the most. To travel to clients’ homes in rural locations, 42p per mile is just not cutting it. I’m doing on average 61 miles per six-hour shift. It’s getting to the point where I’m cutting back at home so I can afford to work.”
– Samina, an NHS worker in Leicester, said: “I can’t afford to top my car up to see patients in their homes. I have sleepless nights as a result. I’m now thinking of leaving a job I love.”
– Sonia, a care worker in Scotland, said: “My job involves driving up to four hours a day to visit children who are vulnerable or in care. Sometimes, I have to drive those placed temporarily in care to supervised visits with their parents. I don’t know how I’d afford to fill up the car for work without using credit cards. It takes two months to process my expenses claim so I end up cutting down on the food shop and other basics.”
– Kate, who supports rough sleepers in Norfolk, said: “I drive my own car for over two hours every day to visit rough sleeper sites and support them with accommodation and other issues. I can’t afford to keep doing this. I spend more on fuel than I get back from the council. Sometimes I even skip meals to ensure I can keep filling up my car.”
– Deanna, a social care worker in Cambridgeshire, said: “I visit people in their homes to assess them and transport equipment and documentation. This is to help them get discharged from hospital and free up beds. I drive around 10,000 miles a year. I really feel the pinch every time I fill up my car or renew my insurance.”
– Roger, a school counsellor from Scotland said: “I have to drive around 450 miles a month to visit different schools. I spent extra on a hybrid car try to keep costs down and minimise my environmental impact. But it’s still around £300 a month and I only get a fraction of that back. My contract states I have to have access to a car, so I use up my allowed miles for work and cut down on seeing friends and family.”
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk

The article Government must raise ‘out-of-date’ mileage rates for struggling public service staff, says UNISON  first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Better pay is the solution to England’s care recruitment crisis, says UNISON

Commenting on the small decrease in the number of vacancies in social care in England, reported by Skills for Care today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“The need for a new national care service grows more pressing with each passing day.

“Until care jobs pay decent wages and offer worthwhile careers, the sector is always going to struggle to attract and keep enough staff to meet growing demand and take the pressure off the NHS.

“Vacancy rates are down slightly because care firms have been on a recruitment drive overseas. But migrant workers are now propping up the broken care system.

“Many overseas care workers have paid extortionate fees to come to the UK. When they get here, many can’t believe what they’ve signed up for.

“Sold an expensive dream, the sad reality for many is a nightmare of terrible treatment, scant training, excessive hours and low pay. The government must hold care providers to account and put a stop to this ill-treatment.

“Ministers must stop with the excuses, get a grip and start clearing up the mess they’ve let care become.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON has written to care minister Helen Whately asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the treatment of migrant workers by care companies.
– The government added ‘care workers’ and ‘home carers’ to the shortage occupation list for skilled workers in February 2022. This has enabled care providers to recruit directly from abroad to these roles. Nurses from overseas can also access visas to work in social care.
– The latest Skills for Care annual report estimates that there are now 152,000 care worker vacancies in England. The figure was previously 165,000. Skills for Care says England will need its social care workforce to grow by roughly 445,000, to around 2.23 million by 2035, if the number of people aged 65 and over grows as expected. Its annual report says around 70,000 people were recruited from abroad in the last year.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk

The article Better pay is the solution to England’s care recruitment crisis, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Better pay is the solution to England’s care recruitment crisis, says UNISON

Commenting on the small decrease in the number of vacancies in social care in England, reported by Skills for Care today (Wednesday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:

“The need for a new national care service grows more pressing with each passing day.

“Until care jobs pay decent wages and offer worthwhile careers, the sector is always going to struggle to attract and keep enough staff to meet growing demand and take the pressure off the NHS.

“Vacancy rates are down slightly because care firms have been on a recruitment drive overseas. But migrant workers are now propping up the broken care system.

“Many overseas care workers have paid extortionate fees to come to the UK. When they get here, many can’t believe what they’ve signed up for.

“Sold an expensive dream, the sad reality for many is a nightmare of terrible treatment, scant training, excessive hours and low pay. The government must hold care providers to account and put a stop to this ill-treatment.

“Ministers must stop with the excuses, get a grip and start clearing up the mess they’ve let care become.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON has written to care minister Helen Whately asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the treatment of migrant workers by care companies.
– The government added ‘care workers’ and ‘home carers’ to the shortage occupation list for skilled workers in February 2022. This has enabled care providers to recruit directly from abroad to these roles. Nurses from overseas can also access visas to work in social care.
– The latest Skills for Care annual report estimates that there are now 152,000 care worker vacancies in England. The figure was previously 165,000. Skills for Care says England will need its social care workforce to grow by roughly 445,000, to around 2.23 million by 2035, if the number of people aged 65 and over grows as expected. Its annual report says around 70,000 people were recruited from abroad in the last year.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk

The article Better pay is the solution to England’s care recruitment crisis, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.