Tag Archives: Supporting People

Social workers oppose new accreditation system

As you may know, the Government is in the process of rolling out a new National Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS) for all children and family social workers who carry out a statutory function. More than 90% of social workers oppose it, and we are holding a meeting at 1 PM on Wednesday 14 June for social workers to meet and discuss it. Continue reading

Get your school to become a London living wage employer

PrintAn important update in our campaign for all workers in schools to be paid the London living wage, and how you can help get your school to become a London living wage employer. Continue reading

Wellesley Road: poverty pay care provider fails first test

Wellesley road care homeGeorge Binette writes on Camden’s newly-privatised, minimum wage care home which was this week savaged by a Care Quality Commission report following concerns raised by whistleblowers. Continue reading

School meals workers’ newsletter #06

spatula-fist-logoPlease see below the new issue of our newsletter for school meals workers with updates about the living wage campaign success at Caterlink, new pay arrangements and what’s next for the campaign. Continue reading

Shaw’s raw deal for care workers

Shaw's Maitland Park care home

Shaw’s Maitland Park care home

June gave workers in Camden’s school kitchens some cause to celebrate, but for residential care workers in the borough it was a very different story. A further 50 Camden Council employees transferred to the South Wales-based private company, Shaw Healthcare, in the week of 22 June. The staff – most of them workers supporting older people with dementia – are now based at the newly built Wellesley Road care home, which has replaced the closed Branch Hill and St Margaret’s facilities, and most of them  will be earning well under  the London living wage. Continue reading

Camden UNISON living wage victory for school meals workers

Residential care workers and dinner ladies lobbying the Council for the living wage. Photograph courtesy of William McLellan, Camden New Journal

After more than  a year of campaigning, we have a successfully achieved a promise of the implementation of the London living wage of £9.15 per hour from 1 September 2015 for nearly 300 workers in 51 schools on the Caterlink contract: an increase of nearly 40% on their current pay rate of £6.60 per hour. Continue reading

UNISON advice on the Childcare Act: disqualification from working with children

Camden UNISON’s advice for workers in schools, in the wake of OFSTED insisting that regulations for childminders around potential disqualification from working with children if someone else in your household has committed criminal offences. Continue reading

Living wage campaign for residential care workers

Residential care workers and dinner ladies lobbying the Council for the living wage. Photograph courtesy of William McLellan, Camden New JournalHomepage for Camden UNISON’s campaign for the London living wage for workers in residential homes caring for vulnerable older people, mostly with dementia, who face poverty pay until 2040. Continue reading

Sign our petition for a living wage for residential care workers

Please take a moment to sign our online petition for a living wage for residential care workers at Shaw Healthcare, who are currently pay just £7.53 per hour and deliver vital care for vulnerable older people, most of whom have dementia. Continue reading

Living wage campaign: CNJ takes aim at Caterlink

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In an excellent article in the latest Camden New Journal, they have revealed that while their Camden employees earning £6.60 per hour demonstrated outside the Town Hall earlier this month, Caterlink’s parent company was selling £1400 bottles of champagne just yards away in King’s Cross station. And while the company claimed it couldn’t afford £460,000 to pay its 300 Camden school meals workers the living wage of £8.80 per hour it made an operating profit of £24.6 million. Continue reading