Care Centre Staff Vote To Go On Strike

Elderly and vulnerable adults who attend two day-care centres in Inverness could be affected by strike action after staff unanimously voted to take industrial action yesterday.

All 30 members of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T &G) at the Corbett Centre for adults with learning difficulties and the MacKenzie Centre for the elderly, voted for strike action.

They are furious at transport cutbacks they say were imposed without proper consultation. There will now be a series of Wednesday stoppages from 7am until noon on May 30, June 6 and June 13.

These strikes will coincide with a permanent ban on overtime, said Aberdeen-based union organiser Tommy Campbell. The action will involve drivers, driver-attendants, escorts, kitchen staff and support workers. Forty people use the centres.

The dispute broke out after Highland Council cut the number of 12-seat minibuses serving the centres from four to three to save £10,000 a year.

The T &G claims that the decision was taken without meaningful consultation with the union, staff or parents and family of those attending the centres.

They claim that the decision will mean the use of more private taxis, costing more than £7,000 a year.

Mr Campbell said: “The users of the centres are transferred first thing in the morning so it will disrupt things. It is with deep regret that the members have decided to embark on strike action, but we have been forced into this by the actions of the council.

“Managers will claim they have a right to manage, but we say they do not have a right to mismanage. How can they justify taking a bus off the road then pay more for taxis.”

When the trouble flared in April, one of the main concerns was that young people with learning difficulties and occasional behavioural problems might have to travel with elderly people, and no risk assessment had been carried out.

A council spokesman again reassured families and staff yesterday that users from the different centres would continue to have separate travel arrangements and if changes to this were proposed, risk assessments would be undertaken and any changes would be subject to consultation with staff.

He added: “We are assessing the potential impact of the strike and examining opportunities to minimise the disruption to service users.

“The additional costs of taxi transport are less than the costs of operating the fourth vehicle. In addition we are continuing to work to encourage and support some service-users to learn to access public transport, which is an important life skill.”

Both the council and Mr Campbell said they were still willing to meet to discuss the situation.

Shop steward Tom McCarthy at the Corbett Centre said there was a fear that the council was not going to share transport “at this time” and it might be imposed later.

He said: “The reason we choose not to do full-time strikes was to lessen the effects on the clients. We believe we have the support of the families of those at the centres. A lot of them are angry and feel they have nowhere to turn to.”

He said the withdrawal of the bus had already impacted on the Corbett Centre, with some users being returned late to carers waiting to give them medication. He also said there was a reduction in the number of recreational outings since the bus was axed.

Local MSP Fergus Ewing hit out last night and said: “Neither the chief executive nor the director of social work at Highland Council bothered to consult either staff at the Corbett Centre or parents or families of service-users there before axing the minibus.

“That was a crass decision which has now led to this ballot. I was consulted by constituents who work at the centre but who, by Highland Council rules, are gagged from speaking out. That surely is indefensible and I hope that the new council will take charge of the officials and decide to run the council themselves, and not to allow the officials to do so.”