Scottish Greens disappointed by Parliament refusal to back £15 minimum wage for care workers
Scottish Greens disappointed by Parliament refusal to back £15 minimum wage for care workers
The Scottish Greens say it is “deeply disappointing” that the Scottish Parliament did not back their calls for every care worker in Scotland to be paid at least £15 an hour, to help ease pressures on hospitals and tackle the care crisis.
Scotland’s social care sector is made up of a variety of personal and practical support and services for children, young people and adults, including care at home, residential facilities, daycare, outreach and respite facilities.
This support is currently offered through a mixture of public, private and voluntary organisations, with many staff receiving low wages for crucially important work.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman’s call for increasing care workers wages came during a Scottish Government debate on health, proposing an amendment that sought to recognise the pressures hospitals are facing, to improve social care for staff, patients and their families, and to tackle poverty that so many staff working in the sector face.
Maggie said:
"It is deeply disappointing that my colleagues across the Parliament did not back our ambitions to make £15 an hour the minimum wage for care workers.
“Care workers are some of the most vital workers in our society. They are the people holding our loved ones’ hands when we cannot. They are the team ready and waiting to welcome children with complex additional needs for a weekend of respite care to let parents rest. They are the ones doing daily visits and co-ordinating with health services and social work to allow people to continue living independently for as long as possible.
“It is not fair for these workers to carry the mental, emotional and physical load that comes with their roles, to then go home and worry about how they will afford their own bills and monthly costs.
“If we want to ease the pressures on our hospitals, we must also look at the crisis our care system is facing because these issues are deeply connected.
“We must start valuing the people who deliver that care, rather than allowing them to work so hard for low wages, job insecurity and extremely demanding working conditions that feel impossible to set boundaries in.
“Scotland deserves a care system that is properly funded, free at the point of use and works better for every staff member, patients and their families.”
Text of Maggie’s amendment
The amendment reads ‘Recognises that we cannot solve issues in hospitals without addressing the crisis in social care, reducing health inequalities and tackling poverty; believes that social care workers should be paid at least £15 an hour and calls on the Scottish Government to address long term workforce planning to support current staff and patients.’