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Privatisation: Dorset care worker is whistleblower on private health firm Dimensions slashing pay for ex-NHS workers in Bournemouth Council cost-cutting

Forty-two ex-NHS private care staff to see wages slashed by 25 per cent after scheme administrator Bournemouth Council insisted on budget cuts

A desperate Dorset care worker blew the whistle yesterday on a care provider which has become the latest to slash the wages of former NHS workers.

Shelley Wilson alerted the Morning Star to plans by Dimensions to cut pay for the second time since it cashed-in on the Tory carve-up of care services in 2012.

She is among 42 Dimensions staff in Dorset who will see their wages cut by £1.89 to just £7.75 an hour from July.

The blow comes only 18 months after workers were robbed of compensation for working unsocial hours and cuts to sick pay that slashed their real wages by around a third.

“I’m worried I won’t be able to manage to live,” said single mum Ms Wilson.

“Since the first pay cut, I’ve been scraping to get enough for gas and electric. We don’t go on holidays. We have to watch the petrol.

“Everything is really tight and I don’t want to think about where the next pay cut is going to push me.”

The Unison rep said another mum of three who works part-time saw her pay cut from £950-a-month to £389 when the contract to care for Dorset disabled people was snatched from the NHS.

Tory ministers promised “patient choice” would be boosted when they unleashed the market on care services.

But Ms Wilson sounded the alarm over the effects of privatisation a month after 150 Care UK workers in Doncaster staged a week-long walk out over pay cuts.

And she warned patients would suffer if dedicated and experienced carers were forced to quit their jobs.

She said: “I’ve worked with my gentleman for 15 years and I’m one of the newer staff.

“With the disabilities they have, the stability is absolutely essential to them.

“Privatisation has shattered everything.”

A letter sent by Dimensions to Ms Wilson and other workers said cuts were required to reduce costs for Bournemouth Council, which administers the care contracts.

It stated: “We’re now in a position where we are required by the local authority to reduce our costs despite taking measures to avoid reducing pay.”

A spokesman from Dimensions told the Star: "A recent communication was sent to Dimensions staff in Dorset regarding consultation on the end of a historic protected pay period for some.

"Staff members have had pay protection for almost two years and we are proposing that this will come to an end in July. We are in full discussions with UNISON, our recognised trade union, with regard to these proposals.

"Dimensions’ primary concern is always the wellbeing and safety of the people we support."

Brian Langridge from Bournemouth Borough Council’s Adult Social Care team, said: “Last year we reviewed all our provider contracts in partnership with Poole, Dorset and the NHS to ensure that each service not only provided best value for money for the taxpayer but all services were able to sustain their quality for service users, including retaining good staff.”

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