Social care support officers (SCSOs) in Preston – organised in Unison – were out on strike on last Tuesday, 13 August, as part of an ongoing, county-wide dispute with Lancashire County Council that has lasted two years.
The SCSO role exists to provide support to social workers. However, it has been used by the bosses to force SCSOs to take on more dangerous and difficult work, without fair compensation.
High-risk cases have become regular parts of an SCSO’s job. This includes working with those suffering from self-neglect, dangerously poor mental health, alcoholism, and domestic abuse – in short, with the most vulnerable in society.
This is a direct result of the worsening crisis of British capitalism, which has destroyed social services like the NHS, and forced millions into poverty.
At the same time, austerity measures have led to a revolving door of skilled social workers exiting the profession – crushed by long hours, low pay, and awful working conditions.
This has left SCSOs to take on harder work, without appropriate recognition or pay increases.
Upper echelons of management say there’s no money in the pot for this. Yet emergency funds allocated to Lancashire County Council for adult care services are being put towards recruiting more middle management to oversee a dwindling workforce!
One worker at the recent picket summed up their frustrations perfectly. “It is interesting that the less contact you have with the people getting care, the more you get paid,” they correctly noted. “It is completely upside down – we should get paid more for doing the actual work.”
Not satisfied with a salary of up to £220,000, upper management are relentlessly slandering workers. They have placed the blame for any strikes on ‘big-mouthed troublemakers’, and have called workers who refuse to enter homes they deem dangerous ‘snobs’.
In reality, this dispute is a reflection of the current sorry state of the public sector. And it is a harbinger of things to come.
The SCSOs are going out again next week for another round of strikes, starting on 27 August. Taking action isn’t an easy decision for these workers. Yet it is the only way they can get the employers to listen.
RCP members in Lancaster and Preston offer the striking workers our full support and solidarity!
