Put fair work at the heart of social care, says Johnstone
Scottish Greens Health spokesperson Alison Johnstone MSP has today (26 Feb) called on the Scottish Government to put fair work at the heart of Scotland’s social care sector, by accepting in full the recommendations of The Fair Work Convention’s review, Fair Work in Scotland’s Social Care Sector 2019.
The Scottish Greens manifesto for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election recognised the ‘vast mismatch between the value of care and the support carers receive’ and highlighted the need to ‘recognise the humanity people demonstrate every day by caring for people.’ It went on to note that, ‘We want professional caring to be valued and considered an attractive career and to reward unpaid care.’
Commenting on the publication of the review, Lothian Green MSP Alison Johnstone said:
“I welcome the publication of the fair work review which seeks to recognise the importance of social care and the need to treat workers with dignity and respect. People who care are often undervalued and underpaid. Social care workers do hard and vital work in people’s homes and care homes throughout our communities, but it remains one of the lowest paid sectors, fuelling the gender pay gap.
“I particularly welcome the call for carers to have a greater voice in the design, development and delivery of services. All too often non-unionised, low paid workers can be overlooked when policy is being developed, despite having substantial skills and expertise to offer.
"Greens have repeatedly highlighted the lack of fair work practices in the care sector and I would urge Ministers to adopt the recommendations of this review, as a means to improving conditions for everyone working in the sector.”