Home care workers, members of Unison, Southend Pensioners Group and others joined forces to protest outside a Southend council meeting last week. They want to stop the councils plans to privatise home care services. It was a lively protest, with pensioners and trades unionists waving banners, chanting and handing out leafletts which warned how privatisation will mean a worse service for the elderly, as well as attacks the jobs, pay and conditions of the care workers.
The council postponed taking a decison on that day. Now the controversial privatisation plans will be discussed at a full council meeting in September.
Claire, Unison branch president, said:
"Home care workers showed they feel very strongly that it is time the slide into privatising caring services was stopped.
"We are sure the public want to see an end to privatisation. We are all aware of what it has meant in industries like the railways - why allow the care of vulnerable people in our community to go the same way?"
Campaigners throughout the region should try to give support this fight.
To find out what you can do to help
contact (At) southendunison.org.uk
or write to
Southend Unison
Floor 13
Civic Centre
Southend-on-Sea
SS2 6ER
01702 215980
See also: www.southendunison.org.uk
Originally posted on www.easf.org.uk on Tue 27th July, 2004 by Barry Kade
Claire, Unison branch president, said:
"Home care workers showed they feel very strongly that it is time the slide into privatising caring services was stopped.
"We are sure the public want to see an end to privatisation. We are all aware of what it has meant in industries like the railways - why allow the care of vulnerable people in our community to go the same way?"
Campaigners throughout the region should try to give support this fight.
To find out what you can do to help
contact (At) southendunison.org.uk
or write to
Southend Unison
Floor 13
Civic Centre
Southend-on-Sea
SS2 6ER
01702 215980
See also: www.southendunison.org.uk
Originally posted on www.easf.org.uk on Tue 27th July, 2004 by Barry Kade