MORE Scottish government delays on sectoral bargaining for tens of thousands of social care workers “stinks of kicking the can down the road,” unions warned yesterday.

Despite the policy having been adopted by the Scottish government as part of the Fair Work in Social Care initiative with unions, five years on it stands undelivered.

The ongoing delays prompted Unison, Unite, GMB and the Scottish TUC to write jointly to Health & Social Care Secretary Neil Gray in August demanding sectoral bargaining be “actioned urgently,” but the response has now provoked union fury.

In a letter seen by the Morning Star, social care minister Maree Todd responded on Mr Gray’s behalf, informing unions that the SNP government had in fact no intention of putting a “bargaining table” in place for 2025/26, leaving social care workers with a further two years’ wait for that right.

In a joint statement, Unison, Unite and GMB hit back: “This is a devastating blow to hundreds of thousands of care workers in Scotland, the vast majority being women workers, and the families that rely on those social care services. 

“Staffing shortages, low pay and poor terms and conditions are crippling the sector. 

“Our members have been waiting too long for the Scottish government to make good on its promises to workers for improvements in pay and terms and conditions.

“They need a substantial increase in pay as being the only hope in addressing and stemming the care crisis in communities all over Scotland.

“The bargaining table must be established, and an initial meeting held as a matter of urgency.

“There should be no obstacle left to progress on improving pay for care workers and meeting the union’s demands for at least £15 per hour.”

Branding the government’s handling of the matter “simply not good enough,” STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “Quite frankly, this stinks of kicking the can down the road until the next election, whereby it may not be the problem of this current Scottish government to deal with.

“The Scottish government can fix the fundamental flaws within social care, but sectoral bargaining is the missing piece of the puzzle.

“If we want to boost pay, create fairer terms and, crucially, retain staff, ensuring workers have a collective voice across the sector is an absolute priority.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.