Camden New Journal - Letters: Meals service

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Camden New Journal - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 18 October 2007

Save home care and meals service from privatisation

• DESPITE both the community meals service and intensive home care services going through huge cost-cutting exercises last year, Camden Council look determined fully to privatise these services by the middle of 2008.
Staff in these services are dismayed that after all the co-operation they gave to help make savings over the past year, and watching colleagues being made redundant, the only way to now make savings is to put these whole services into the private sector.
Two of the companies being considered as bidders for the meals service are huge multi-nationals, which have made a name undercutting localised services by paying lower wages.
Their services are not necessarily supplied seven days a week in contrast to what is currently available.
Camden even suggested that the big supermarket chains be viewed as potential candidates to run the meals service.
While we know that supermarkets never did provide such a service, and are very unlikely to do so now, the Council is putting forward a sham “business” case pretending that all options are under review.
Again, home care savings are expected on the basis of a the private sector paying carers lower wages, and while any council-employed carer will initially transfer to any new company with the same wages and conditions, the for-profit employer will be keen to have a quick staff turnover to push down wage rates.
Essential council services like these were developed many years ago to meet real needs, not for the pursuit of profit.
Now, service users have to make decisions on whether they still want a costlier service with rising charges, and no guarantees of local service provision.
UNISON and the GMB will be opposing these privatisation plans. Many clients of the services will no doubt be very angry. The decision on the meals service will be made on October 31 in the council chamber where the unions will be protesting, while the home care decision is due to be made in December.
We want to see the largest protests against these plans, and in favour of the council retaining these vital services.
PHOEBE WATKINS
UNISON Co-Convenor HASC
On behalf of Camden UNISON

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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