People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin said,"I was glad to join and have the opportunity to speak at Unison’s public meeting in support of home care workers at the Waterfoot Hotel. Home care workers spoke powerfully at the meeting about their pay and treatment, and it was shocking. Low wages, wage theft, and a complete lack of basic rights and fair treatment are rife across the private home care industry.
"It is no lie to say Stormont MLAs have turned over home care to corporate profiteers who pay bare minimum wages and mileage rates, and who then use loopholes to get out of paying workers what they're even legally entitled to. Stormont has allowed for no regulation so that businesses can grab as much in profit as they can squeeze from workers and public funding. The Good Jobs Bill would address zero-hour contracts and many of the substandard conditions home care workers face, but Stormont's main parties prioritised passing through massive pay hikes for their MLAs instead.
"Workers should not wait on Stormont because that could be forever; it's a government for corporate sweaters, bankers, landlords, polluters, and warmongers, not for workers and the working-class. I encourage all home care workers to join the trade union now to gain a collective voice and the collective power to demand decent pay and fair treatment. Employers are not gatekeepers on workers' rights. Home care workers can no longer be ignored. I commend UNISON for leading on this campaign and commit to doing whatever I and People Before Profit can to support it."
