The Chair of the Social Work Forum has sent a message of support to staff in social work teams across Lancashire who are taking a second round of strike action over salary grades and working cover. It reads:
As Chair of UNISON’s National Social Work Forum, on behalf of the Forum, I am writing to offer you a strong message of solidarity for the action you are taking and to send you our best wishes.
No one wants to go on strike, but Lancashire County Council’s obstinate refusal to pay you the correct rate for the duties and responsibilities you undertake is fundamentally unjust, and it is right and proper that you have taken steps to challenge this in pursuit of fair pay and a fair grading.
The Covid pandemic shone a spotlight on the vital work adults’ Social Care Support Workers do with vulnerable adults. We know how important Support Workers are in teams delivering Social Work support services alongside Social Worker and OT colleagues. For too long too many Councils (like Lancashire) have exploited their Social Care Support Workers and used them as ‘Social Workers on the cheap’. The time has come to say, ‘enough is enough’ and your strike is providing inspiration across the country for other workers who are being similarly mistreated, undervalued and underpaid.
You have clearly tried over a number of years to engage the Council in a productive manner and in good faith to resolve this matter – and they have thrown this good will back in your faces. This is no way to treat dedicated and skilled staff who are providing services to the community under difficult circumstances.
There is a growing reawakening within the Trade Union movement about the need to stand together. Your action is an important part of building the momentum for the kind of change needed in our society; a rebalancing of power in the workplace; a reversal of the growth in inequality, and the challenging of employers who wilfully underpay and exploit their staff.
Solidarity from the National Social Work Forum. Good luck with your dispute. Please let us know of what further support we can offer.
The article Lancashire County Council – Social Care Support Worker Strikes first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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