UNISON Derby City has set up a petition on 38 Degrees (https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/derbyethicalcare) asking Derby City Council to adopt UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter. The Ethical Care Charter is a series of standards that we want the council to adopt to improve homecare services throughout Derby. The Charter calls for an end to 15 minute visits for elderly and disabled people who need care in their own homes. It calls for our elderly and disabled people to be given the same care worker rather than a series of strangers. It calls for better training to be given for homecare workers. It also calls for the payment of the living wage and an end to zero hours contracts for homecare workers.
The full charter is accessible on our 36 Degrees page: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/derbyethicalcare
We believe that elderly and disabled people in our community deserve the best possible level of homecare to help them live independently and with dignity. In order to make this happen, homecare workers need to be treated fairly and decently so they can do their jobs to the best of their ability. UNISON is therefore calling for this by asking Derby City Council to adopt our Ethical Care Charter. Across the country too many care workers who need care and too many people are not treated with the dignity they deserve.
A number of other councils such as Islington and Reading have already done the right thing and adopted UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter.
Please add your name and ask that Derby City Council take responsibility for ensuring better care for our elderly and disabled people and for better treatment of our homecare workers.
We are all going to need care at some point in our lifetimes, it is only right that the people who need it and the workers who provide it are treated with dignity and fairness.
I was quite surprised when recently asking an officer within Derby City Council questions about how they commission home care; as to how little proof they require that the providers pay the national minimum wage, just trusting the provider to give the correct information. Given that non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage is so rife in the care sector it would not be unreasonable to do more checks. I also believe that their claims that they would be unable to check that workers are paid the National Minimum Wage because of data protection to be untrue. Personal identifiable information could quite easily be removed by the provider to maintain confidentiality.
Please sign our petition by following this link: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/derbyethicalcare
Please share this email with all of your colleagues, friends and family to help Derby residents get better care and ensure workers are treated with the respect that they deserve.
Kind regards
David Jowett
Assistant Branch Secretary
