Demand councils follow Salford

Submitted by AWL on 12 May, 2020 - 9:30 Author: Mohan Sen
Care workers vs Covid 19

Salford City Unison has won what looks like strong policy for the right of all care workers in their borough to self-isolate on full pay.

The policy agreed between the union and the council says:

“All providers will be expected to ensure staff who are absent as a result of Government guidance will be paid full pay for the first 14 days, and then at 80% for a maximum total of 12 weeks period of absence. Providers are able to claim back the difference between what they would normally pay and what they are required to pay, from the NHS.

“Payments should be made on the basis of typical hours worked, rather than basic contractual hours — as the provision is to cover commissioned work in its totality.”

The union says it has checked “rigorously” it is being implemented.

The “Care Workers vs Covid-19” campaign run by the North West region of Unison reports other breakthroughs on these issues across the North West.

From what we understand, however, these agreements have not yet been pinned down, advertised and implemented in the same way as in Salford.

The same sort of problem seems to exists in other local authorities. And then there are Labour councils which are not insisting on isolation pay for care workers even on paper.

We should try to spread the example of Salford as widely as possible.

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