On Saturday 17 January, over 200 people in Preston heard Andrea Egan, newly elected General Secretary of UNISON, condemn the threat to five care homes and five day centres in Reform-run Lancashire.
By Paul Gerrard
A lively rally with speeches by trade union and opposition councillors was well attended by care staff, along with relatives of residents and service users. A noisy march followed through the narrow streets of Preston, including significant contingents from Your Party branches across Lancashire.
Reform, who took control last May, say they have consulted on potential closure of these facilities. They claim no decisions have yet been made and that savings from potential closure were not in the budget – but neither were the estimated £4 million for much needed repairs and renovations. UNISON has highlighted that the lead councillor for adult social care is himself the owner of a private care company!
If the homes are sold to a private chain of homes, the residents and staff will be at risk. The finance model for social care is notoriously fragile, with the amount of funding given to councils by the government barely changing in years. This means the only way care homes can be profitable is by cutting costs and fleecing the self-financing residents.
Over 800 care homes closed between 2011 and 2022. And if anything, the pace of closures is increasing. Keeping these facilities under public and democratic control is vital.
Saturday was a positive start to the campaign against Reform’s ruthless austerity policies. Socialist Alternative members in UNISON will be recommending that UNISON show their determined opposition to privatisation and service reduction with a rolling programme of strikes and rallies across Reform-run councils such as Lincolnshire and Kent. This must be prepared for with determined organising inside the care homes to organise the unorganised and raise union members’ confidence that these attacks can be defeated with mass action.
