Haringey UNISON shows the way in the fight against super-exploitation

If there has been one topic which has cropped up at every regional and national meeting of UNISON which I have attended in the past couple of weeks it has been the fight being waged by our Haringey Branch for fair pay for home care workers who have been ripped off in the private sector.

Whilst the majority of our members, working in the public sector are justifiably angry that the pay freeze has reduced our standard of living dramatically over the past six and a half years – many of the increasing proportion of our members who work in the private sector are being paid wages that are unlawfully low.

These are workers, often employed on zero-hours contracts by employers who do not recognise trade unions, who most need union organisation and representation. Haringey branch have shown what many branches could do given sufficient resources by employing a worker to help them represent and organise social care workers in the private sector.

An effective working partnership between a democratic lay-led UNISON branch in Haringey and the professionals at the UNISON Centre offers hope to some of the most exploited and marginalised workers – and demonstrates why we need a trade union which fights for our members.