Care worker trade unions plan action in March

Nine trade unions and five student organisations have come together to issue a joint communique calling for action in response to the impact of inflation on the standard of living of workers, students and pensioners. They are calling for a policy of redistribution in favour of wages and action to tackle inequality, particularly between men and women. The organisations also underline that the minimum wage should be only regarded as appropriate as a starting salary and not a wage level that applies throughout a working life. The communique underlines that both public and private sector employers

(May 2017) The OSZSP heath and social care union has called on the government to take immediate steps to increase pay for social care workers. The union argues that these workers are very badly paid for the responsible and demanding job they do. This is resulting in a recruitment crisis in the sector. The union wants to see the agreement to cut the two lowest pay rates on the social care pay scales implemented and for care workers to be covered by the health care salary structure.

The European Confederation of Trade Unions (ETUC) is calling on employers to offer better-paid jobs to end damaging labour shortages across Europe. An analysis of job vacancy rates and wages in 22 EU countries by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) reveals that industries with the worst labour shortages pay 9% less on average than sectors where it’s easier to recruit. The ETUC argues that lack of skills is often seen as the main problem, but the new analysis suggests that low pay is one of the main drivers of labour shortages. The ETUI research found that across the EU, the industries