Staff that work caring for Edinburgh's most vulnerable could go on strike over cuts to the council's Monitoring and Response Service Unit.
Workers who respond to emergency situations that include elderly service users falling or requiring medical attention are part of the section that is being affected. Those who use the service have an alarm and other devices that can be triggered if an emergency situation arises at home, with specialist workers ready to respond if they need attention.
Unite the union confirmed that they are balloting their members. The ballot involving over 20 members opened on Wednesday, 20 July, and closes on 3 August and could lead to strike action taking place in the coming weeks..
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Amid concerns over staff pressures and fatigue, Unite is accusing the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) of making detrimental decisions without consultation. This includes case call handling being outsourced to Newham Council in May 2022, allegedly on a temporary basis.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary said: “Our members in Edinburgh’s Monitoring and Response Unit have simply had enough of the chaos. This is directly due to service cuts and the outsourcing of call handling to Newham Borough Council, in London, almost 400 miles away.
"Make no mistake about this, lives are at risk. The workers deserve the support of Edinburgh’s citizens because this is a fight not only about better jobs, pay and conditions, but a better service for the most vulnerable people in the City.”
Unite also claim that calls are being assigned to local MROs "irrespective of geography," meaning that teams are being allocated calls to areas that may not necessarily be near them. Prior to outsourcing it was the team closest who would attend the call.
The number of teams have reportedly also been reduced from two teams on each shift to one due to understaffing placing "huge pressure on the single team."
Unite Scottish Deputy, Mary Alexander added: “Our members have given their all during the pandemic to keep their vulnerable clients safe. But now those very same vulnerable clients are being put at risk because of the length of time to respond and undue pressures being put on families to attend first.
"It is only the dedication and commitment of our members that keeps the service going. Unite has repeatedly raised that major incidents are arising from the cuts and outsourcing which isn’t being addressed.
"This is why our members feel they have no option but to ballot for strike action as a last resort.”
A spokesperson from the City of Edinburgh Council said: “Our priority will always be the health and wellbeing of the people in our care and their families, and that of our colleagues who work so hard to support them. We take this extremely seriously and are actively investigating all of the direct and indirect claims made by Unite that we’re aware of. We remain committed to ensuring that any issues are fully and robustly investigated.
“We’re extremely disappointed that, despite continued efforts and regular dialogue with Unite, that they’ve chosen to go down this path. We’ll continue to do everything in our power, adhering to the strong principles of our partnership agreement, as a means to finding a resolution to ensure these vital services are not disrupted in any way.”
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