Southampton care workers on strike

IN THE face of massive attacks, care workers in Southampton are taking three days of strike action from 3-5 February.

Nick Chaffey, UNISON steward, Voluntary Sector, personal capacity

The strike involves 240 UNISON and TGWU members. They have been forced into striking because of the savage wage cuts Southampton City council is imposing on them. Potentially this will be the first round of strike action in a growing campaign to stop budget cuts of £6 million, around 100 threatened redundancies and the privatisation of 800 jobs.

The council have given the workers until 18 February to accept savage pay cuts or be sacked.

The cuts range from £25 a week to £7,000 a year!

One worker told UNISON: "I am 48 years of age. I have worked for Southampton City council for 17 years, the last five as a carer. I am appalled by the way the council are treating us. I work four evenings a week, including two at the weekend and any day overtime available. I stand to lose about £35 per week, that's £150 per month. I am a single person, so I have to pay my mortgage and all my bills with my one and only income.

I will have no choice but to sell my house or seek alternative employment, as I am not prepared to do or rely on extra overtime (if and when available) just to cover my huge loss."

Send message of support to: Care Workers, UNISON/TGWU, Civic Centre, Southampton SO14 7NB. branchsecretary@ soton-unison-office.org.uk

Private hands off our health service