Care Workers Sue Council Contractor In Minimum Wage Battle

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37350750

There must be 10,000's of workers, maybe 100,000's, who will be watching the outcome of this case with great interest.

Its early days of course, but its part of the debate about what we are going to do about our rapidly ageing population.

[EDDIE51]

As a 65 year old pensioner I am interested in this. Us 'Baby Boomers' need plenty of taxpayers to fund our pensions.

[Peter Pedant]

and pensioners anxiously ask - what will happen to us if they pay the minimum wage ?

the standard of care will go up wont it ?

by the way - shape up mikey - this is an employment case not a (let's make sure pensioners are OK again ) case

[Zacs-Master]

Bloody unions at it again. Anyone notice the following?

'Sevacare says it pays above minimum wage but the workers feel hours it deemed off-duty should also be covered.'

[mikey4444]

PP....the care of our old people is at the heart of this case.

My niece worked in this industry for a year or two and told us stories about having as little 15 mins with a patient, once a day. The main reason for that was that there wasn't the budget available for proper care.

The old lady in this case seems to have excellent care, but this was due to the diligence of the staff involved, not the wages that were paid.

Eddie is right....I am not far behind him, at age 63, and we have to accept that much more money is going to needed, if we are all to be looked after properly in our increasingly prolonged old age.

[Zacs-Master]

So how will paying the staff more increase the levels of care?

[mikey4444]

Zacs....well, it might stop the huge turnover in Staff. Some of these old people have 5 different carers in the same week.

Compare the wages of Nurses to Carers, doing broadly the same job.

[Zacs-Master]

Firstly, to compare nurses to carers demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge regarding the gulf of training and skills required for the respective jobs.

Secondly, if company profits are eroded through paying staff higher wages, how does this result in better care. You're turnover of staff argument has no substance.

[mikey4444]

Zacs....the money to pay Carers comes from Local Councils, via the companies that the Carers work for.

If we as citizens are prepared to see people paid as little as £3:27 an hour, than we can't them complain when the care given falls below an acceptable standard.

For me, I hope I die before I have to submit to this kind of under-funded care.

[hc4361]

A carer should not be considered 'off duty' whilst driving from one client to another - it is part of the job and should be paid for.

[Baldric]

///Compare the wages of Nurses to Carers, doing broadly the same job///

Complete and utter nonsense there is no comparison between the two jobs.

[Zacs-Master]

Mikey, you're being hoodwinked. Read my 9:16 post. This is nothing more than the unions fiddling figures.

[ummmm]

Zacs....they are given their days duties but are not paid to travel from A to B. Getting from A to B can take as many hours as they work.

They aren't given travel costs either.

[mikey4444]

Zacs....not sure why you are trying to make excuses for poor company practice and wages. This industry in well over-due for an investigation, just like Hermes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37334936

As Ummmm has said, its poor practice that allows Companies to pay these kind of ages....and those wages come directly from our local rates and taxes.

We are well over-due for that debate about care for our elderly and infirm.

In this case, the Court will decide who is telling the truth, but the evidence of the pay-slip looks compelling.