Fight for the Care Services We Need

 

The failure to protect the elderly and vulnerable during the COVID pandemic has highlighted systemic flaws in the social care system. Social care provision is fragmented, with the vast majority of care homes in the UK operated by private companies for profit or charities.

During the second wave of the pandemic, care homes were the largest source of multi – infection incidents according to official data, with ‘acute respiratory infection incidents’ in care homes more than doubling from 364 to 749 across the UK in the fortnight to 3rd January.

The Welsh Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition stands for a publicly operated and fully funded national care service for residential, nursing and home care. 

We also promote the health and safety, well - being and financial remuneration of all staff, who should be directly employed by the public sector service. NHS workers have marched to demand a 15% pay rise in the wake of the pandemic. Workers in social care should receive a similar double digit pay rise. TUSC will fully support trade union action to achieve this.

We value the selfless work of unpaid carers and recognise that an improvement in the integration and funding of professional care as suggested above would alleviate the burden on them and provide the support they need. We believe that if carers are unable to work due to their caring responsibilities, they ought to receive benefits equivalent to the national living wage. As an immediate measure, we support a substantial increase in the level of benefits available to them.