TUC: Fair Pay Agreement will be vital building block in delivering National Care Service

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has set out his “commitment to end decades of political drift on social care and fix the system so that it gives people dignity, security and support when they need it most.”

Speaking at a care home on Wednesday, the PM stressed the need come together to find solutions, with an approach focused on problem solving rather than political point scoring.

Andy Burnham said:

I won’t stand by and leave people paying the price for Westminster’s refusal to deal with the real issues facing our country. That’s what’s happened with our broken social care system, which has been left to decline while politicians pass it back and forth.

I just don’t accept that this problem is too big to solve. What we need is a new way of doing politics where we come together, face the challenge head on and build an integrated system that gives people security and dignity.

That’s the commitment I am making to people across this country, and I will give it my all in trying.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

This is an important step towards fixing our social care sector. The Prime Minister is right – the government’s progress in delivering the Fair Pay Agreement will be a vital building block in forming a National Care Service and bringing social care staff rightly in line with their NHS colleagues.

Most families will need social care services at some point. But the system for funding care is not fit for purpose. It’s a postcode lottery which leaves too many without the quality care they need, and some saddled with enormous bills just to ensure their basic needs are met.

At the same time care work has long been synonymous with low pay and insecure work, with care workers undervalued and underpaid for the vital work they do.

That’s why the foundation to success of any reforms is improving pay and conditions for the workforce through the Fair Pay Agreement – and improving progression routes through training.

In years ahead, continued and increased funding will be essential to ensure the urgent workforce challenges can be meaningfully addressed.

The Institute of Employment Rights has repeated called for Sectoral Collective Bargaining in care and other sectors, as set out in successive Labour manifestos and as laid out in the New Deal for Working People. You can read our expert briefing on the Employment Rights Act here.