Home care services will be handed over to private companies despite a long-running campaign by Wandsworth staff and trade unions to keep all work in-house.

Angry protesters packed the public gallery at Wednesday's council meeting when Tory councillors voted unanimously in favour of plans to hand over all new work in Battersea, Putney and Roehampton to agency staff from January 1.

Before the meeting, placard-waving home care workers from across London joined a candlelit protest at which union officials and Labour councillors condemned the plans as a cheapskate' move aimed at slashing £400,000 a year from the budget.

The demonstration ended a day of strike action by more than 100 care workers who claim the council does not care about quality of service and only worries about having the lowest council tax.

Wandsworth Home Care Services (WHCS) was awarded a new five-year contract in the summer but the council decided to award most of the extra work to outside companies.

The in-house staff fear they will get less and less work as clients move on or die and it will lead to a postcode lottery' of care.

Speaking after the meeting, Stacey Oliver, a WHCS worker in Furzedown, said: "I am very disappointed but it was expected. We have tried to do everything to stop this happening but all they care about is saving money.

"We are confident they will be proved wrong the agencies will not be able to provide the same quality services and the Tory councillors will be left with egg on their faces."

But Wandsworth stresses no redundancies will be made and changes will be gradual.

Cabinet member for care services, Councillor Jan Leigh, said: "I hope we can all work together and continue to provide the best service for the clients. The changes have been made to ensure the right level of care is available for our frail and vulnerable residents when they most need it."

Geoff Martin, leader of Battersea and Wandsworth TUC, said: " We will carry on fighting and care services will be at the heart of our campaign in the run up to the local elections."

December 14, 2001 11:00