Two former health secretaries have joined forces to call on the Scottish Government to ban zero hours contracts as part of their proposed new National Care Service.
Alex Neil and Malcolm Chisholm have backed a campaign by relatives of patients, academics and politicians calling for an end to the exploitative regime in social care jobs. The sector is in the midst of a recruitment crisis and campaigners believe potential applicants are being put off by poor pay and working conditions.
Humza Yousaf, the current health secretary, has been urged to make the eradication of zero hours contracts a key part of the National Care Service Bill which is currently going through the Scottish Parliament. Neil served as Cabinet for Health and Social Care in Alex Salmond’s SNP government between 2012 and 2014. Chisholm had the same role in the Labour-led coalition between 2001 and 2004.
They are both signatories to a letter published today (Sun) by the campaign group Zero Hours Justice who campaign for the end of zero hours contracts across the economy. In the letter it states: “As the Scottish Parliament begins its scrutiny of the proposed National Care Service Bill we urge you to take this opportunity to eradicate pernicious Zero Hours Contracts from the social care sector.”
It goes on: “It is our view that insecure and low paid work, embodied by Zero Hours contracts, are the heart of many of the problems we currently see in the health and social care system. Their use is incompatible with the Scottish Government’s commitment to ‘fair work’.”
Commenting on the letter Neil, who retired as an SNP MSP last year, said: “The health and social care sector is in the midst of a major recruitment crisis. Social care shortages are leaving patients stuck in hospital taking up much needed hospital beds at a cost of £4,000 a week when they should be recovering at home with social care support.
“Zero hours contracts are a barrier to people working in the care system and should be banned. The Cabinet Secretary must end the use of these pernicious contracts in the social care system.”
Chisholm, who stop down as a Labour MSP in 2016, added: “Social care staff work under huge pressure, providing vital public services. They performed heroically during the Covid pandemic to keep us safe and well. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect with a secure contract, fair pay and decent working conditions.
“The Cabinet Secretary has the opportunity to end the use of these contracts once and for all.”
An estimated 15,000 people employed in the health and social care sector in Scotland are on zero hours contracts. The majority are female workers.
Figures published earlier this year by the Scottish Government showed there was a vacancy rate of 43 per cent in social care.
Other signatories to the letter include former Scottish Labour Party leader Richard Leonard, Alba Party MP Kenny Macaskill and Pat Rafferty, the Scottish secretary of Unite the Union. Cathie Russell, who represents the Care Home Relatives Scotland group which were part of the Sunday Mail’s Anne’s Law campaign for care home visiting right, is also backing the campaign.
The letter states that zero hours contracts contribute to “increased vacancy rates and poor staff retention and a decline in standards of care provided”.
It also said they create uncertainty in staff “who do not know from one week to the next how many hours they will work” and make it impossible for workers to financially plan their lives.
Chris Peace, campaign Director of Zero Hours Justice, said: “Zero hours contracts are a stain on Scotland’s care system. They cause anxiety and fear amongst workers leaving them financially insecure and unable to plan their lives. They are a key factor in the recruitment crisis in the Scottish care system which, according to the Scottish Government, has a 43 per cent vacancy rate.
“Humza Yousaf must take action to ensure that the eradication of Zero Hours is included in the National Care Service Bill.”
The Sunday Mail asked for comments from Yousaf about the letter.
In response, Social Care Minister Kevin Stewart said: “The Scottish Government firmly opposes the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. Companies bidding to win a Scottish Government contract are evaluated on their fair working practices, where it is relevant and proportionate to do so.
“This includes the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and this will be extended to the National Care Service. The Fair Work in Social Care group has developed a set of minimum terms and conditions, including investigating ways to end the misuse of zero hours contracts within the social care sector, and work to deliver these standards with key stakeholders has begun."
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