Members' Business — S6M-02777 Alex Rowley: Longstanding Underpayment of Social Care Staff

That the Parliament notes the belief that the longstanding underpayment of social care staff should end, and that action must be taken to address the inequalities across the health and social care sector in order to deliver greater dignity and respect within the profession; considers that the rate of pay for social care staff, including in the Mid Scotland and Fife region, does not come anywhere near to recognising the complexities and challenges of the work; further considers that the main underlying cause of recruitment and retention issues in the care sector is a result of poor pay and unequal terms and conditions; condemns what it considers the poor treatment faced by many care workers in the course of their employment, which, it believes, would not be acceptable in any other profession, and notes the calls for all workers being hired directly or indirectly to deliver key public services to be paid the proper rate for the work they undertake.