Announcement
Scottish Government pledge £300 million investment in H&SC
Statement from Tricia Donnelly
“Here at The Mungo Foundation we welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement of £300 million of investment in Health and Social Care, including a fully funded uplift in pay for front line care workers, rising to £10.02 / hour from Dec 1st.
The pandemic demonstrated to a wider audience what we within the sector have been saying for a long time; our workforce, who make such a vital social contribution, have been historically undervalued and underpaid. This has serious implications for continuity of care and the sustainability of our services. Whether they are domestics, administrators, chefs or care workers, we value all our staff, and are proud to be an accredited Scottish Living Wage employer. As an active voice within the CCPS and the Fair Work Convention (on the working group on reward and remuneration) we have continued to push for a pay increase for staff.
"This needs to be part of a wider programme of sustained actions undertaken to ensure that our professional social care workforce feels valued and recognized. Only then will we have a fair, sustainable and resilient health and social care system."
Alongside our trade union partners UNISON, we have advocated for fair pay for fair work at HSCP levels, with Local Authorities and COSLA. We are delighted that the Scottish Government is responding to this call for greater investment.
Whether it’s HGV drivers or strawberry pickers, many sectors are currently experiencing labour shortages – Health and Social Care is no different. This investment is a firm step in the right direction but it doesn’t take us all the way to the destination. It needs to be part of a wider programme of sustained actions undertaken to ensure that our professional social care workforce feels valued and recognized. Only then will we have a fair, sustainable and resilient health and social care system.
We head into winter at a particularly difficult moment; flu-related sickness absence compounds staffing shortages and piles more pressure on an exhausted workforce who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. This week’s announcement will help with recruiting and retaining staff, and is a timely boost for all of us. We thank the Scottish Government for taking action to recognize the important efforts made by our workforce and look forward to working with them to establish how this will be awarded and processed. For our part we will do everything we can to ensure that this money gets to where it needs to go – the pockets of staff – as quickly and seamlessly as possible.”