Lib Dems Stand Up for Care Workers

4.26.20pm GMT Fri 16th Mar 2007

There have been recent reports in the press that the County Council is proposing to reduce the pay of its home care assistants by allowing only time-and-a-half on Sundays instead of the current double time. Internal inquiry by the Lib Dems through the scrutiny process has resulted in stonewalling.

Janet Godden, Lib Dem spokesperson on Social Care, has written to the papers to make it clear that the Liberal Democrats on the County Council are totally opposed to such a pay cut for some of the County's lowest paid workers.

She said, "Home care assistants are needed by those who depend on them for basic help with dressing, bathing, and so on just as much on Sundays as on every other day of the week, and the care workers themselves are nearly always women with families of their own at home on Sundays. A cut of 12% in their pay, which is what such a reduction would represent, would be savage and I am not surprised that both the carer workers and the union are outraged.

"The Liberal Democrats proposed a number of alternative savings in their budget proposals, including not increasing the number of Assistant Chief Executives from one to two, and social care staff themselves have also come up with some suggestions. If the Tory administration had considered some of these, they might not be in such difficulties.

"I was as delighted as everyone else with the recent award of four stars to the County Council by the Audit Commission, but if this is how 'excellent value for money' is achieved I'm not so sure. Let us hope it will soon be confirmed that this harsh measure will not be implemented."