Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, says, “We welcome the fair pay agreement. Care workers, along with other low paid sectors, deserve employment security and real living wages. We would like clarification on how this will be achieved and funded and a timeline for when this will happen.
Care work is continually listed as one of the lowest paying roles in the UK and we are pleased to see a discussion on changing the remit of the Low Pay Commission to account for the cost of living and ensure workers of all ages are paid enough to live on.
The idea of a National Care Service is something we would be keen to hear more about regarding how this will be set up and run. We know that care workers have the skills to deliver these changes, but we would like to see plans which include how care workers’ wages will rise in line with any additional responsibilities in health care and monitoring.
Everyone in the care sector knows that there is no way to reform care without it being given priority and without full funding. We would like to see timelines and costings and would welcome the opportunity to work across all parties to take the steps needed to make real changes for those drawing on social care and the workforce providing this vital service.”