Thousands of care staff threatened with sack amid cuts

THOUSANDS of care staff across Scotland are facing redundancy, with several of the country’s largest charities announcing staff and salary cuts.

According to Scotland’s largest public-sector union, this week alone 2000 workers from the voluntary and community sector have been threatened with redundancy, with others seeing a dilution of their terms and conditions.

As revealed in yesterday’s Herald, leading charity Quarriers issued 90 days’ notice to all its staff and will cut its staffing budget by £2.5 million, twice its previous estimate. Unison’s Stephen Brown said many Quarriers’ staff would see their salaries reduced by 20%.

The Cora Foundation, a voluntary organisation that runs three secure units for young people, has issued letters to hundreds of workers at St Philip’s in Plains, St Mary’s Kenmure in Bishopbriggs, and the Good Shepherd in Bishopton, threatening them with redundancy.

Unison said that if the secure units run by Cora close the courts would have no option but to send young offenders to institutions such as Polmont, at a much greater cost to the taxpayer.

It also said youth justice charity Includem has refused to negotiate with the union and has instead imposed a 9.5% pay cut on its staff.

The details came as several hundred union activists, carers and service users gathered in Glasgow’s George Square to protest against the cuts which many in the social care sector are now feeling the full brunt of, blaming the city council.