STRIKING carers at Enable Scotland have marched to demand collective bargaining and fair funding for fair work in social care.

Rallying at Edinburgh’s historic Tron Kirk, dozens of Unison carers from across Scotland marched down the Royal Mile, winning the support of locals and tourists alike, as they made their way to Holyrood.

The rally marks the final day in a series of targeted one-day strikes at Enable bases across the country over the last fortnight, after 93 per cent of Unison members at Enable voted for the first strike in Scotland’s charitable care sector in a decade.

Care worker and Unison steward Robyn Martin told the rally: “We balloted for industrial action because we were told Enable simply did not have the budget to pay us what we are worth as skilled workers.

“Instead of wasting our breath trying to negotiate with Enable, we are here to demand that the Scottish government acknowledge the importance of our roles as carers and to treat us with the dignity we deserve.

“We are sick and tired of being treated like a box-ticking exercise and we demand the Scottish government adhere to their own Fair Work promises.

“We want to be clear today that we know exactly where this additional funding can be found — not from starving other public services and deepening austerity, but by finally dealing with the private sector which skims profits out of public funds, time and again.

“Care workers constantly centre people over everything, including profit, and the Scottish government could learn lessons from our example.

“The Living Wage is nowhere near enough for the skilled work we do, and now is the time to get around the table with us and engage in collective sectoral bargaining.”

Lending the support of the STUC, general secretary Roz Foyer told the rally: “I bring the support and solidarity of Scotland’s trade union movement — over half-a-million workers. We know what you do every day: we see you.

“We understand because we depend on the valuable care services you deliver,” she said. “The humanity, the skills, the experience, the fortitude — what it takes to do that job well is utterly priceless, and this government needs to get their priorities right.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.