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Cabinet Office sets out plan for bringing services like cleaning and security back in-house
RECRUITMENT gimmicks in the social care sector are “entirely pointless” unless workers are paid a living wage, sector union GMB has told ministers.
Demanding a £15 hourly wage as the benchmark for the skilled work carers do, GMB pointed to surveys revealing that the vast majority of care providers were finding it more difficult to recruit staff as pandemic restrictions have eased.
GMB social care lead officer Kelly Andrews said: “It’s not rocket science: the reason there’s a recruitment crisis in social care is blatantly because of the appalling levels of pay in the sector — not because of the lack of any new recruitment gimmicks.
With 121,000 vacancies and 44.8% of staff feeling unwell from work stress, the NHS 10-year plan will not succeed unless the government takes immediate action to retain existing staff, writes ANNETTE MANSELL-GREEN
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street
