UNISON members call on councils not to make damaging cuts in social care
UNISON Scotland Community & Voluntary sector e-group
Sector
will use their annual meeting today (Saturday 27 January) to call on
Scotland's Local Authorities to avoid making across the board cuts in
social
care budgets.
Regional Organiser, Matt McLaughlin said,
"UNISON members appreciate that local councils are under financial
pressure
and that they are having to set next years budgets in the next few
weeks.
However, our members are becoming increasingly concerned that, rather
than
review individual support packages, councils are simply going to impose
across the board cuts in funding. If this is the approach that they
take,
service users will get a poorer service and may be placed at risk.
Staff who
are already amongst the poorest paid and hardest worked in Scotland
will be
further demoralised and sickness and vacancy levels will increase
further."
Matt added,
"Our members are angry that once again the quality of
service
that they deliver, training budgets, money for investment in services,
their
terms and conditions and their wages are being cut back so that
councils can
make efficiency targets."
There are approximately 120,000 Social Care Workers in Scotland. Many
work
for as little as £6.00 per hour and work on average 48 hours per week.
They
provide care and support for people living in their own homes who have
a
range of complex and challenging disabilities.
Commenting on the action that local councils should be taking Matt
said,
"Local councils should be looking to review service provision on a case
by
case basis. If through this process they determine in partnership with
the
service user and service provider that efficiencies can be achieved
then all
parties should work to ensure that this happens. By adopting this
approach
they will ensure that quality does not suffer."