Social care pay call

Leaders of the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland have signed a declaration calling on the Scottish Government to “do everything within its power” to ensure frontline social care workers are paid a minimum of £12 per hour.

The Scottish Faith Leaders Declaration on Fair Pay in the Social Care Sector was signed in May by the then Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, and the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, the Most Reverend William Nolan.

The declaration reads in full: “We believe in the importance of human dignity. We honour those people who serve, care for and support others so that this dignity can be respected and that all may have fullness of life. We thank them for their time, hard work and compassion.

“We believe in fairness and justice, and believe that all staff working in social care in Scotland today should be paid fairly for this fundamentally important work. We recognise the challenges today facing social care staff and providers, following the difficult years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the current challenges with recruitment.

“We call on church and faith communities to encourage and support advocacy and fundraising and for better social care in Scotland. We recognise recent commitment made to the Adult Care Workforce but call on the Scottish Government to do everything within its power to ensure all frontline social care workers be paid a minimum of £12 per hour immediately, and that the appropriate funding is made available which allows all social care staff to be recognised for their skills, experience and contributions, in whichever role they serve.”