Strike threat by home help staff

Councillors have already agreed the controversial new arrangements but staff could walk out on December 12 - the day the decision is ratified by the full council.

If it goes ahead the strike would be by home help staff working for the council's own in-house team, Wandsworth Home Care Services (WHCS).

The team was awarded a new five-year contract in the summer but the council has decided to award most of the extra work to a handful of private companies.

This has led to fears that, as clients move on or die, WHCS will get less and less of the work.

The Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council (BWTUC) has also claimed the system will lead to a postcode lottery' because some parts of the borough will be covered by WHCS, which unions say provides a better service and other parts can only be competed for by external providers.

Wandsworth argues there will still be enough work for WHCS to operate efficiently, with a promise it will get no less than half the work, and that private companies charge less, saving council tax payers' money. The private companies will be strictly monitored, they add.

BWTUC lead organiser Geoff Martin said this week the council had forced workers into the strike ballot.

"This strike is about defending high-quality home care services for some of the most vulnerable and needy members of our community. We expect to get massive support from the public when they realise the Wandsworth Tories are playing politics with essential frontline care."

Staff will be provided for emergency cover during the one-day strike, if the ballot is successful.

But social services cabinet member Councillor Jan Leigh said the ballot was regrettable'. She added: There's nothing in these proposals that would warrant such extreme action. Nobody's going to be made redundant, the change will be made slowly and clients will benefit because the private companies will not be able to benefit from economies of scale."

November 23, 2001 10:30