People will have heard of more deaths in the private care sector in Newcastle today.
For info, much of the adult care (care homes and home care) is commissioned by councils not NHS – though sometimes a combination.
Most of this provision is made by private sector low waged workers, who are employed without the full set of employment rights enjoyed by most workers, i.e. no sickness leave rights, and this is reflected in the the sector having traditionally low union membership.
UNISON Newcastle City Council branch on Tuesday (21 April 2020) wrote to the Director of Adult Care, calling on them to follow Salford in telling all commissioned services to pay full pay for isolation and COVID-19 sickness. As yet, we’ve had no response.
Please consider raising in your Labour branch, and lobbying Northumberland County Council to do this.
Please see the blog in full here:
This could save lives and prepare ground to challenge the government to take care back in-house.