GMB: Home care upheaval is being driven through in defiance of councillors
by Bill Heaney
Social care bosses in Dumbarton are driving ahead with plans to “fire and rehire” staff in defiance of councillors and Scottish Government employment guidelines, unions warn.
GMB Scotland has accused West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) of pressing on with a controversial restructuring of home care despite councillors voting for it to be paused to allow more talks.
The union, representing care staff, accused managers of ignoring a council vote calling for more talks before imposing new home care rotas branded unworkable by staff.
A survey of union members has revealed the devastating impact of the changes on the physical and mental health of staff while sabotaging the quality of care for some of the most vulnerable residents in West Dunbartonshire.
GMB, one of the biggest in the public sector, is urgently consulting employment lawyers over the new contracts and warned that a policy of “fire and rehire” is being imposed by stealth and against councillors’ wishes.
Workers will rally outside the council building in Church Street, Dumbarton, at noon on Thursday before the union meets with HSCP managers and council officials inside.
Meanwhile, GMB Scotland criticised a senior HSPC manager in community care after she responded to an email detailing workers’ dismay and frustration with a love heart emoji. Her reply was later deleted.
AnnMarie Carrigan, GMB organiser at West Dunbartonshire Council, the manager’s response to the union’s correspondence was “flippant, patronising, and absolutely typical of managers’ attitude.”
She said: “Our members have, for months, detailed the damage inflicted by these new shifts on their professional and personal lives.
“These staff are almost all women delivering crucial, life-changing care for some of the most vulnerable people in West Dunbartonshire.
“They deserve only respect and their voice to be heard and heeded. Instead, the senior manager in charge of their service responds to their serious concerns with a love heart emoji?
“It is condescending and completely inappropriate, but is entirely typical of the management’s attitude throughout this dispute.
“They do not want to listen to their own staff, and they do not want to understand the damage being inflicted on their lives and the care being delivered in homes across West Dunbartonshire.”
The HSPC has continued imposing new contracts on home care workers despite, in February, at a special council meeting, councillors voting 12-10 to urge a halt to the redesign.
The union claims the continuing imposition of new contracts is effectively “fire and rehire,” a practice outlawed in the Scottish Government’s Fair Work guidelines for public sector employers and contractors.
Carrigan said: “The council’s vote was decisive and councillors clearly wanted this disruptive redesign paused to allow constructive discussions.
“Instead, the HSCP continues to steamroller through changes which will have a devastating impact on the lives of committed workers.
“Are councillors content that their clearly stated wishes are being ignored by unelected and apparently unaccountable officials?
“The refusal of the HSCP to pause and seriously engage with their staff in defiance of councillors’ wishes is abject and risks legal repercussions for the local authority.”
A poll of home care workers by GMB revealed nearly nine out of ten (85 per cent) say their mental health has suffered because of the anxiety and stress caused by new working patterns, while 72 per cent said the changes have cost them money because they have been forced to reduce their hours.
Eight out of ten (80%) believe the redesign has impacted their lives away from work, while 58 per cent believe the changes have damaged their pensions and sabotaged retirement plans.
One carer surveyed by GMB said she has already been forced to reduce her hours, while many other colleagues are finding new shift patterns and additional responsibilities too much.
She said: “I loved my job and the people I visited, but I just couldn’t cope with the new demands. I ended up in tears every night and just couldn’t keep doing it. It was too much.
“Everybody I know in the service is either dropping their hours or thinking about it. It is so unnecessary and unfair.”
ENDS