Fair Wages for Edinburgh's Housing Support Workers

We call on the City of Edinburgh Council to recognise that social care support workers play a vital role in the provision of housing support services and are therefore entitled to fair pay and conditions.

In recent years the Council and the voluntary sector have invested in creating a well trained and qualified workforce in the city of Edinburgh. This is at risk as competitive tendering and budget cuts threaten to reduce the role of support worker to an undervalued low paid job. This will lead to a reduction in quality of service, decrease in morale and the loss of experienced, dedicated and qualified staff.

It is essential, for continuity and quality of service, that support workers receive a reasonable, living wage that takes account of the skilled and specialised nature of their work.