Care workers’ industrial action takes early bath
Strike action by care workers in Bath and North East Somerset was called off after an agreement was reached between public services union UNISON and Sirona Care & Health.
Sirona, a Community Interest Company which provides publicly funded health and social care services has halted its plans to restructure working patterns.
The care provider is trying to introduce a half-hour unpaid break into their shifts, meaning they would have to choose between working longer hours for the same pay or seeing their wages fall.
Workers who don’t take the unpaid break would be asked to “pay back” the time by working unpaid shifts.
The agreement came after Bath and North East Somerset council referred the issue to the Health and Wellbeing scrutiny panel, which is expected to meet at the end of September.
https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2018/07/plans-cut-care-workers-pay-hold