Care home workers to meet with ministers after feeling ‘abandoned’ during Covid
It follows a recent poll where GMB members working in private care homes said things had either stayed the same or worsened since covid.
Health and social care ministers are due to meet with care home workers who feel “abandoned” after Covid.
On Thursday, union GMB Scotland’s care home workers will protest outside the Scottish Parliament, and will meet with health secretary Neil Gray and social care minister Maree Todd.
A delegation from the union will meet the ministers, where they will discuss ongoing issues within the private care home sector.
It comes after a GMB Scotland survey of 800 workers said they felt the conditions for staff and residents in private care have either stayed the same or worsened since the pandemic.
Some 62% of care staff believe working conditions have not improved since lockdown; 82% said staffing levels are no better; and 86% said their wages are no better now than then.
More than half (52%) said their homes have not improved health and safety procedures since the pandemic.
Some 87% said owners are more interested in profit than giving staff fair pay and decent conditions.
Last year, unions urged the return of £38 million of funding ringfenced for social care but secretly cut from Scottish Government budgets while progress towards the promised £15 an hour minimum wage has stalled.
Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, said ministers should listen to workers on Thursday and then act to ensure the improvements to pay and conditions promised after the pandemic are delivered.
She said: “The staff and residents in private care homes were abandoned during the pandemic when many were not given the proper equipment or guidance to protect themselves or their families.
“Staff and residents in many of those homes were thrown to the wolves because of decisions taken by policy-makers with no knowledge of their work or its crucial importance.
“Their commitment and life-saving care saved countless lives despite being exposed to grave but unnecessary risk and they were promised that, after Covid, things would change.
“Nothing has changed and, if anything, conditions are even worse now than then.”
She added: “It cannot go on. MSPs in the Scottish Parliament will hear our members outside and everyone must listen and then act to deliver decent wages, sick pay and security for workers asking for nothing but fairness.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We value the vital role social care workers play in delivering high-quality care to people of Scotland.
“We also remain deeply concerned about the impact the increase in employers national insurance contributions will have across the social care sector.
“Our 2025/26 budget provides an additional £125 million to enable adult social care workers, delivering direct care in commissioned services, to be paid at least £12.60-an-hour.
“This is in line with the Real Living Wage for the coming financial year and takes our total investment in improving social care pay to £950 million. Ministers are looking forward to Thursday’s discussion.”
