A TRADE union has criticised plans to outsource the remaining long-term home care services in Rhondda Cynon Taf to independent providers.
The council’s decision-making cabinet will soon consider plans for how it delivers the domiciliary home care service in the future, including recommendations that it externally commissions all long-term home care from October 2024 but the GMB has labelled the plans “abhorrent” and has raised concern about staff moving over to private providers.
The council said there are two approaches to providing domiciliary home care – reablement and intermediate care, due to continue to be provided by the council, and long-term home care.
The council’s Support@Home service delivers all reablement and intermediate care, but a much smaller proportion of long-term home care (about 10%) with most already commissioned from independent providers.
A report to be considered by cabinet at a meeting on Monday, October 23, proposes the council continues to deliver all reablement and intermediate care and, from October 2024, commissions all long-term home care from external home care providers, as part of a required re-tender process.
Under the proposals, all care packages would be kept while eligible staff employed by Support@Home to provide long-term home care would transfer to the new service provider, which would award a new contract under transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) arrangements.
But trade union the GMB has criticised the proposal and said it will fight to oppose it.
Gareth Morgans from GMB said: “The GMB thinks it’s abhorrent that RCTCBC can even contemplate throwing these dedicated staff into the insecurity of the private sector, homecare providers.
“The workers that the council leader was lauding and clapping for during the recent pandemic, it’s these very same staff that put themselves and their families at risk and continued to work throughout the pandemic whilst these decision makers, throwing them to the wolves, were sat safely at home, isolating from infection.
“The GMB will fight tooth and nail to oppose this measure as the staff deserve better that to be treated like a dirty rag being tossed one side to save a few shillings.
“When the going gets tough, it’s not the time to abandon your principles, it’s a time when you honour what you believe in.
“The council leader has previously committed to keeping in insourced Homecare service and as a trade union we believe that the council should be looking to insourcing the commmisioned services that the private sector currently undertake for profit.
“Care of our elderly and infirm should not be a product for these companies to barter over to maximise profits, offer at the expense of underpaid and overworked staff. “
Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Maureen Webber said: “The comments of the GMB Union are disappointing; during the discussions held with trade union representatives last week such concerns were not raised.
“These comments do not acknowledge the fact that the council delivers just a small proportion of the long-term home care provision in Rhondda Cynon Taf, and these changes would see the remaining ten-percent transfer to external providers. Reablement and intermediate care services through the council’s ‘Support@Home’ service continue to provided by the council under these plans.
“Should these officers’ proposals for the future delivery of long term home care be agreed by cabinet, eligible staff would transfer to the new service provider under TUPE arrangements. This will ensure continuity of staff support for service users, and job security for staff members with their existing terms and conditions of employment protected going forward, along with membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.”
The council said the TUPE arrangement ensures continuity of support for service users, and job security for staff with the terms and conditions of their current contracts protected, along with membership of the local government pension scheme
At the cabinet meeting, councillors could choose to agree the proposals and start the re-tendering process for the long-term home care service.
Cabinet could also agree to enable the council’s director of social services to award the contract after the process is completed.
If agreed, the council said everyone receiving long-term home care will be told about the decisions and it added that initial discussions have taken place with the recognised trade unions on this matter and that, subject to any decision by cabinet, these discussions will continue.
The council said the aim of the proposal is “securing the future resilience and sustainability of the service without reducing the level of care provided”.
