Hundreds of staff working for Enable, one of Scotland’s largest charitable social care providers, are to be asked if they’re prepared to strike over pay, UNISON says today (Friday).
UNISON has written to the charity to say that if its workers back industrial action there could be mass walkouts by Enable Scotland’s social care staff later in the autumn.
The union says this is the first strike ballot for over a decade in Scotland’s charitable social care sector and shows the deep dissatisfaction that exists over pay.
Enable Scotland has put a two-year offer to its staff proposing a minimum hourly rate of £10.90 an hour or a 1% rise for all other staff, for last year. For 2024/25, it’s a minimum of £12 an hour or a 3% increase for all other staff.
The union says this falls significantly short of the staff’s pay claim of a minimum of £15 per hour, and it fails to address both low pay and the staffing crisis in care. The union says staff turnover rates in the sector are at 24%.
UNISON Scotland social care lead Jennifer McCarey said: “Everyone understands the funding problems in social care and staff have a good relationship with their employer Enable Scotland.
“Social care staff do skilled and demanding jobs. Their work is vital, but despite the Scottish government promising to reform the sector five years ago, care workers remain poorly paid.
“As much as no one wants to walk out, the threat of strikes is likely to be the only thing the government might listen to. Social care workers deserve to be paid wages that better reflect the emotionally and physically demanding jobs they do.”
Social care worker Robyn Martin said: “The Scottish government is doing nothing to improve care in the charitable sector. Ministers not only took money back off the table intended to improve the pay and conditions of care staff, but also failed to allocate any funds for future pay rises so employers like Enable Scotland who want to raise wages can’t.”
Social care worker Kim O’Donnell said: “No-one wants to take strike action, we worry about the disruption strikes will cause for the people we care for and their families. Care workers are simply asking for a pay rise that starts to lift staff above the Scottish Living Wage and better reflects the value of care to the NHS and council services.”
Notes to editors:
– Postal strike ballots will be issued to 575 Enable Scotland staff from Friday 13 September. The ballot closes three weeks later on Friday 4 October.
– UNISON is the largest union in Scotland with its members delivering social care, education, local government, NHS, police services, utilities and energy. They are employed in public, private and voluntary sectors.