Care home workers in fair pay fight

UPDATE

Striking Unite members at Ruskin Lodge care home have today (August 15) won their fight for fair pay! Their brave stand this week taking two days of strike action has resulted in a new pay offer which was unanimously accepted by the workforce. Strikes have now been called off – you can find out more here.

Meanwhile, you can still read our feature below, where we hear from care worker Katie, who tells us why they took the stand they did.

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Unite member Katie and her colleagues working at the Ruskin Lodge care home in St. Helens wear many hats.

They’re not only care workers; they’re cleaners, kitchen staff, security, activities coordinators, laundry attendants, admin staff – the list goes on.

They are involved in virtually every aspect of the running of the care home, which was set up in 1991 to offer care for retirees of the world-renowned Pilkington Glass factory.

Most recently, they’re now being trained to administer medication, including controlled drugs.

For all their hard work and astonishing breadth of skills, they’re official job title is ‘care assistant’, and they’re paid just £13 an hour – barely above the minimum wage. More shockingly still, this meagre pay rate covers weekends, nights and unsociable hours.

“We feel deflated and very undervalued – all we want is to be recognised for the work we do,” Katie told UniteLive. “Our responsibilities have increased dramatically over the years, but this isn’t reflected in our job description or pay. The job description when my colleague started 25 years ago is exactly the same as mine when I began working three years ago.”

Indeed, their responsibilities are so vast that the dozen care assistants at Ruskin Lodge can hardly catch their breath.

“A typical day varies based on which shift you’re on,” Katie explained. “If you’re on the morning shift, for example, we get everybody up, do the bathing, showering, changing and we bring guests down to the dining room for breakfast. Then two of us cleans all the rooms since we’ve got no cleaners. We also have to prepare the rooms for departures or arrivals. Then we serve teas and coffees and do activities with the guests. Then we prepare for the dinner service. All the while we’re doing toileting in between and ensuring guests’ safety. And then we’re writing guest files at the end of the shift as well.”

This jack-of-all-trades nature of their jobs is practically unheard of in the care sector – other homes and care facilities all have separate cleaning, laundry, activities and other staff.

Adding to the pressure they face, the number of guests with complex needs such as dementia has risen significantly in recent years.

“Especially for guests with conditions like dementia, ensuring their safety and security is paramount since they’re at risk of leaving the building at any time.” Katie noted. “They need 24-hour supervision and many will need two carers attending to them at a time.”

After a recent pay review, their employer Pilkington Retirement Services, part of Pilkington Trust, has offered care assistants a measly 4 per cent increase, plus a £500 non-consolidated payment, when they complete drug training.

This in effect takes their pay up by just 50p an hour. Unite members at Ruskin Lodge are asking for an 8 per cent pay rise, but their employer is refusing to budge.

“There’s a lot of frustration that team leaders were offered a very significant pay rise three years ago, which has left us carers behind,” Katie explained. “When they refused to consider our pay demand, we decided enough was enough.”

They’re now taking strike action for the very first time this week, commencing with a two-day strike on Monday (August 12) and Tuesday (August 13), followed by another planned two-day strike next week.

While Katie and her colleagues are disappointed that their employer has left them with no choice but to take strike action, they’ve been encouraged by the widespread support they’ve received both from guests and the local community.

“Our guests have told us that they feel we are the best respite care home in the country; that they don’t know how we do it all – they really value and respect the work we do. Since the strike started, they keep asking us what they can do to support us.

“Out here on the picket line by the main road, we’ve had many cars beeping their horns; we’ve had a lot of feedback from the community that we deserve what we’re fighting for.”

Katie and her colleagues are now simply urging their employer to see what everyone else sees – that they deserve to be recognised for their skills and hard work.  

Unite has calculated that meeting the striking care workers’ demands would cost Pilkington Trust only £12,000. This is a drop in the ocean for the Trust but would mean the world for Ruskin Lodge care assistants, who’ve struggled to cope during the cost-of-living crisis.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called on Pilkington Trust to do the right thing.

“These are invaluable staff looking after vulnerable elderly residents,” she said. “Yet despite asking them to perform increased duties, Pilkington are offering a derisory pay rise. The Pilkington Trust is incredibly wealthy and could solve this dispute with the stroke of a pen. Instead, they have forced our members to take to the picket line in protest.

 “Our members will have the full support of Unite in their fight for fair pay.”

 Unite regional officer Ian McClusky agreed.

 “This is a dispute entirely the making of Pilkington’s,” he said. “As the care home is also open for NHS referrals and guests this strike will have a significant impact on their working operations.

 “Pilkington is a world-renowned name and consequently there will be much interest in this dispute. We are fighting for a decent pay offer considering the significant changes to their terms — this is the least that they deserve. I’m sure that the people of St Helens will agree.”

By Hajera Blagg