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CARE workers have secured a massive victory after winning a pay rise worth £19 million to get a “real living wage” from one of Britain’s biggest care providers.
Employees of Anchor Hanover housing association in Salford in north-west England staged protests and rallies demanding better pay and won a wage of £9.90 an hour — which the Living Wage Foundation says is the minimum necessary for a “decent standard of living.”
Previously they were paid £8.91 an hour. The increase will be extended to all Anchor Hanover workers.
Anchor Hanover provides services on behalf of Salford Council, and Unison worked with councillors to win the increase.
Salford City Unison secretary Steven North said: “Through a combination of organising with workers, relentless direct protest and fantastic support from Salford City Council, we have shown that those who deliver social care can have a powerful voice.
“In Unison we are determined to show that care and support workers have power and that when they come together, they are a tremendous force that must be listened to.
“To know that hundreds, if not thousands, of heroic care workers in Salford and beyond can now see a brighter future is a wonderful feeling.”
Labour’s Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, who supported the campaign, said: “What an amazing victory for care workers across the country.
“I joined the protests organised by the union, I listened to the concerns and experiences of carers struggling to make ends meet on barely any pay.
“Care workers have been heroes of the pandemic — and they and others deserve take home pay that reflects their full contribution to our society and our economy.”