Over 100 home carers demonstrated outside South Lanarkshire Council’s headquarters on Wednesday morning.
They were staging a protest over pay, demanding the local authority recognise how significantly their job has changed and pay them an appropriate wage.
Anger from the workforce stems from the result of a recent job evaluation, in which they requested the council re-examine the grade of their jobs since their workload has increased significantly during Covid.
The job evaluation concluded and the workers’ pay grade was not changed. Now, they are appealing the decision in the hope that the council will reconsider their request.
Organised by trade unions Unison and the GMB, a demonstration was held at the council’s base in Hamilton to coincide with Wednesday's full council meeting.
Unison representatives met with SLC Leader Joe Fagan and urged him to ensure that the local authority would give urgent attention to the appeal against the job evaluation outcome.
Councillor Fagan proposed a motion to ensure the appeal process of the job evaluation is carried out as soon as possible and takes on board the demands of home carers.
The Labour man told the full council: “The council will be aware of the outcome of the recent job evaluation in home care and trade union concerns about the implications for the workforce. The expectation that the process would lead to positive movement in pay and grading to the benefit of the workforce has not been positive, even though the role they are undertaking has evolved significantly in the ten years since the last evaluation.
“The process is understandably independent of councillors, the integrity of that process must rightly be maintained, but if we as a council are to have confidence in the process then we must be confident that its outcomes are rational and justified.
“I’m sure I speak for the whole council when I say that the outcome of this evaluation is baffling, it’s not for politicians to interfere in the evaluation but equally we cannot be silent when people who went above and beyond during the pandemic are demonstrating outside this building and telling us this decision will demoralise the workforce already gripped by a recruitment crisis.
"This is a workforce on the frontline of the winter crisis in health and social care, this is a work force we applauded as key workers, and rely on to give care and nourishment and dignity to the most vulnerable in society.”
He added: “Trade unions have the right to appeal the outcome. We should all encourage them to exercise that right on behalf of their members. The motion I’m presenting today asks us to ensure that the appeal process commences on receipt of evidence from trade unions and concludes in line with the demands of the trade unions with the minimum of delay.
“And whatever the outcome given us, we as councillors should not interfere in the appeal itself. We must ensure that those wider calls for change and social care are not ignored.
"Society must value the care workforce more, society must invest in the care workforce more and we must give those employing those key workers public servants the resources we need to do so.”
He continued: “Our new deal for employees combined with decisions that the council will hopefully take later demonstrates that where we can, this council will act to make South Lanarkshire a better employer, a progressive employer that works with its trade unions to navigate the budgetary and recruitment challenges.
“To that end the council was asked to join the administration in a paper, setting out what further steps can be taken to support the home care workforce, so whatever the outcome of this process, we consider what more can meaningfully be done to help them.
"But the fundamental issue is the one we are presented with today and the one that trade union colleagues have called on us to recognise today, these workers are worth more.
"They deserve better and they need us now. And so I ask the council to come together today to back this motion unanimously and give the clearest indication we can to our home carers that this council for all its differences is united today and on their side.”
Provost Margaret Cooper made a direct comment to home carers offering support, saying: “Personally I’d like to say you are an intrinsic part of the front-facing service that mixes with the public every day and that is something that we value because of the reports that come back to all of us as councillors.
“And everyone in here will have experienced careers through their constituents or through their personal family needs, and the reports that return to us are outstanding about the service that you provide under difficult circumstances and also a lack of staff because it is a difficult time for recruitment across many services.
"Whilst as provost I can’t have a political view on it, I can certainly have a personal view and my personal view is that I hope that your review is undertaken and proves to be beneficial and as the leader of the council has said, that we look at all the ways we can support this very important front-facing service in the future.”
Councillors from all political groups backed the calls and praised the hard work of home carers.
Some even attended a meeting organised by Unison which allowed home carers to speak of their own personal experiences in the job.
Councillor Maureen Chalmers (Blantyre), attended this meeting, and she also welcomed the motion.
She said: “On behalf of the SNP group I would just like to express our support for home carers. They were absolute stars over the last couple of years in particular.
"I know some of our members attended Unison’s meeting. Thank you so much for organising that, it was good to hear directly from carers.
“The outcome of the job evaluation is a huge disappointment and it’s very frustrating. It’s not appropriate for us to make further comments at the moment, but when an appeal process is under way.
"But, in the coming weeks and months we’ll work with trade unions and home carers in a supportive and constructive way.”
Conservative councillor Alex Allison (Clydesdale East), spoke of his own personal experience with home care workers, and expressed support for them.
He said: “This is actually something that has a personal sense to myself, my mother received a great deal of support from the home care service over the last two years before her passing in the spring, so you see it first hand exactly what they have had to do and what they were doing during the Covid period.
“It was also very interesting – I couldn’t make the whole meeting due to other commitments – but when I was in there at the start of the meeting, it was quite clear that there has been a change in the work specification that the home care operatives have to deal with and therefore it is disappointing, as the leader has said, that was not recognised in the review.
"But that review is ongoing, there is still a process to be completed and I would hope that the unions can put forward information required to get the result that we are all looking for in the room. And therefore we are certainly going to be supporting this motion.”
Lib-Dem Mark McGeever (Hamilton West and Earnock) echoed these thoughts, and said: “Many councillors attended that meeting and it was great to hear from the workers who are doing a fantastic job, and it was really difficult to hear how underappreciated they feel and how lacking in confidence they are as a result of this process, that has to be changed.
“And while we can interfere with that and it’s right that we don’t, I think that all of us across this chamber want to make it very clear to them that they are appreciated and the job they do is recognised as being a skilled one.
"It’s not just a difficult one, it involves caring and compassion, it also involves a lot of professionalism and has huge responsibilities and they’re being asked to do so much more and it is absolutely right that this council as their employer recognises that.
“The appeals process should be expedited, they need the reinsurance that is taken seriously and I hope they get that as a result of unanimous support.”
Independent Councillor David Watson (East Kilbride West), said: “I’m 100 per cent behind the carers and the fantastic job they’re doing, they need more than an applause they need to be recognised and they need to be recognised not just financially but for the job that they do and to be allowed to do the job that they do.
“One of the points made in the round table discussion that I was at, a comment was made – care is being taken out of the caring.
"And we need to get back to caring as well, and I would plead with the leadership in social work, care needs to be put back at the heart of caring, and I know from my own personal experience with friends and family, carers aren’t getting the time to care, and we need to get back to that as well, and it’s not just about the financial rewards for these people, they need to be allowed to do the job that they want to do and that is to care for people.”
Stephen Smellie, branch secretary of Unison South Lanarkshire, said: “The demonstration was a powerful statement by home carers that they are worth more, and they expect the council to recognise that by paying them accordingly.
“Over the past week Unison and our home care members have spoken to councillors, explained to them what is expected of carers and emphasised how crucial they are to service users. We will now be meeting with the council officers to discuss our appeal against the flawed outcome of the job evaluation and our members expect there to be progress.”
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