Caring for nearest and dearest

I've never had the ultra-demanding, but rewarding responsibility for being a carer, but I know a few people who have. The nearest I came to this was when I gave daily telephone support to my mother, when she was the sole carer for my step-father.

They were both retired, so the situation did not directly affect income. But I do understand that many people under retirement age forego a career (with pension) in order to devote their time to a loved one. No salary, no pension rights, etc.

However, some friends of mine are now in the process of approaching a large union, with a proposal which would give carers all the advantages of belonging to a public sector union.

It all began here: http://carolinepage.blog.suffolk.libdems.org/2011/12/02/paying-to-c...

Grey Pride has about 137000 members, although not all are internet-enabled. There must be many of our members who would welcome the extra security of belonging to a union. What do you think?

I'll be checking replies regularly, and giving any updates on progress as they happen. I suppose these things take time to gain momentum, but I can't help thinking this could be the start of something really worthwhile. 

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Permalink Reply by Rudee Hemming on December 15, 2011 at 0:29

Thank you for the link, perhaps maybe Caroline should champion our cause!  I would like to belong to a Union but the Carers Uk are already 'The Union' and they cannot get any rights for Carers, if only Carers UK (already on facebook) would set up a petition but as I have always said...Who Cares?  We are a lost cause with endless isssues and the government just bury's its head in the sand!

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on December 15, 2011 at 8:18

Good Morning Rudee, Caroline has begun correspondence with a major union, and political figure, in order to get this moving. This is the first step, and Caroline is certainly prepared to champion the cause. I have notified her of your interest, and await her reply. In answer to your question, "Who cares?"....We do. Things on this website seem to move rather slowly, but now that you have replied, I am hopeful that others will realise this is for real! Take care, I'll be back with information soon.

Permalink Reply by Rudee Hemming on December 16, 2011 at 0:11

thank you Richard, its comforting to know that maybe Caroline to champion the cause maybe she can start the government e-petition and I know that there will be over 100,,000 signatures to guarantee a discussion in The Commons. hope to hear from you

 

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on December 30, 2011 at 16:30
Hello Rudee, and other friends (please excuse my dreadful use of IT),

Caroline is steadily working on this issue, and awaits a response from Suffolk Unison, who will be the first step on the way to gaining support. This following printout is the current thread from Facebook, exactly as my computer copied it:

Cro Page edited a doc.
Sensible Proposals re Carers

I'm sending this to whoever might help the lot of Carers
 
 
Sensible Proposals re Carers
 
Dear xxx
 
This is in support of my facebook message to you of a few minutes ago. I am @Cropage and I an very hot under the collar about the lot of carers.
 
I am myself, a 24/7 carer and have been so for 12 years. I am lucky that I can earn a living  because I am a County Councillor which gives me paid work (tho pretty poorly paid  if you are the sole breadwinner in a family of 5) that can be managed around hideous and fulltime  caring responsibilities.
 
As such I know from first hand the life of a carer. 
 
I also know many other carers whose situation is much worse than mine.
 
I have long been angry at society's neglect of the UKs  6.4m carers who are saving the country £119bm this year alone, while generally living lives of poverty, anxiety and often desperation. I became even more cross over the strike period (not least because I had to cross a picket line to take my daughter to a London appointment  of the utmost seriousness at the National Hospital for Neurosurgery and Neurological Diseases) .Carers are people 'without jobs' as Unison told me, and can get no representation, and without representation, nothing but a pat on the head and a continuation of appalling conditions. No thought of present alleviation or future security is possible - and yet we work as nobody else in the world would be expected to work - for love. 
 
Yet if I - for example - collapsed, it would cost the state nearly £2000 a week to pay for my daughters' care - and that's assuming each hour is paid the same daily rate, no overtime, no holidays, no sickness - just as I and all other carers work (unpaid).
 
So I  blogged about the rights that Carers who (alone in this country) do not have basic  rights or respect  and put forward sensible proposals I would like to see looked at to improve their lot The whole blog entry is here: http://carolinepage.blog.suffolk.libdems.org/2011/12/02/paying-to-care-a-modest-proposal-about-carers-rights/
 
However, the actual proposals are simply as follows:
 
Ensure the state counts the Carer's allowance as a wage rather than a benefit, and awards it separately from earnings or other benefits(exactly as DLA as awarded to those who are eligible) rather than clawing back sums in the long-established Scroogery that currently exists. Currently the rules under which you can get it makes it impossible to gain work, yet work around caring is appallingly badly paid, and sporadic
 
The government should further relax rules on the 'penalties 'of having other employment to allow carers the ‘luxury’ of being able to work, and have some non-caring life outside their responsibilities. This would also enable them to return to work more easily when their caring roles are (often sadly)  finished
 
In return for the carers forgiving the government for giving them an allowance so much beneath the minimum wage , the the government should agree pay into the equivalent of an occupational pension for carers to accurately reflect (ok at minimum wage) the real hours spent caring. This could be established by reference to the cared for’s DLA returns and would give carers the prospect of a securer old age after all that work.
 
There should be a real and appropriate scheme set up to train carers for real , satisfying jobs when their caring roles (as I said above, often sadly) end. This isn’t a luxury – it is a reward for all the unpaid work they have done without prospect of career advancement.
 
If you would consider supporting such proposals, it may help convince the current government of our plight. Past governments  quite honestly have not given a single solitary damn 
 
Best wishes
Caroline
Permalink Reply by Rudee Hemming on January 2, 2012 at 22:55

Hi Richard

Thanks for pasting the page and made good reading......it will be a miracle if the government will pay Carers allowance to those in receipt of their state pension!

all the best

Rudee

Permalink Reply by Jane Crofts on January 3, 2012 at 10:21

A union would be helpful but it should build on what is there already and be easy to join. However many part-time carers do not realise that is what they are:

"I'm just helping out Mum now she can't get about",

"It's easier for me to do the washing for them"

"I was going to do my shopping anyway"

Just some of the issues in this context that get me wound up include:

Part-time carers get even less recognition and support and are probably just as stressed because they are caring as well as continuing with their own lives.

What we need is decent state system that really does care itself about the vulnerable and sick not one that tries to off load everything to people who will make money from it.

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on January 3, 2012 at 13:43

Rudee, you're welcome. Jane, I absolutely agree, and what you have written is the main thrust of Caroline's campaign so far. She has had an encouraging response from Tim Farron, who is President of the Lib Dems. He makes loud noises regarding healthcare, and has the ear of members in both coalition parties. Worth looking at his website, I think. The campaign is beginning to aquire some momentum, and we just need to sit tight for the moment, and gain more support at the right level. But the foundations are laid.

Permalink Reply by Rudee Hemming on January 3, 2012 at 13:57

Hi Richard

 

I am not keen on Unions, they earn thousands in salaries! I have been there when I was working and they were useless, costs me more in subs that I care to mention.

thanks anyway and await news in the future

Rudee

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on February 7, 2012 at 10:49

Hello Rudee, Jane, and friends,

My IT skills, or lack of, are failing me today. Caroline has posted to my Facebook wall the image of a whole page in the East Anglian Daily Times. It is almost exclusively devoted to a very strong letter from her, about the need for carers to have union representation, etc. I have downloaded it to my computer, but can't get it on to this website, this thread in particular. Most frustrating.

The letter contains all the info in the blog I linked way back when, with an added reference to Unison. So the wording would not be a surprise to you, only the fact that you could see proof that a regional daily paper has featured it. This is progress, and we all knew it would take time.

An abbreviated version is on her councillors blog, which I can link if anybody wishes, although there is no revelation in content. Please let me know if you want to read it, dated yesterday.

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on February 7, 2012 at 11:01

Hi. I decided to leave the link anyway:

http://carolinepage.blog.suffolk.libdems.org/2012/02/06/family-care...

If I can figure out how to get the image of the page, with its banner headline, on to here, I will do so. Meanwhile, I hope this blog shows that the issue continues to be pursued.

Permalink Reply by Richard Alexandar on February 13, 2012 at 23:51

Hello folks,

The following message landed on my Facebook "wall" not long ago, and I immediately thought I must keep you good people up-to-date with what I receive on this important issue. Chances are you already know about it, but, just in case, here it is, with the sender (to me) kept anonymous:

Guys, just got an email from my local carers charity forwarding the email from the Princess Royal Trust people about a pariliamentary lobby on March 6th. Just to give you the heads up - only popping on here  Hope you are all well. X

Sent on behalf of Gordon Conochie (Princess Royal Trust for Carers)
Dear Carers Centres
We are members of the Care and Support Alliance, which consists of 50+ charities campaigning for better social care in England. The Alliance is organising a mass lobby of Parliament where the public can come to Parliament and meet their MP to lobby for reform on social care.
It would be fantastic if Carers Centres are able to encourage families to come to this, or organise a group of carers to attend. There is more information at http://carelobby2012.org.uk/ and you can register with the campaign to be kept informed of updates too.
This is the best opportunity there has been for decades to improve social care and the lobby will help make this happen.
Thanks
Gordon

Gordon Conochie | Policy and Parliamentary Officer Tel: 020 8498 7915 |

Permalink Reply by Rudee Hemming on February 15, 2012 at 21:58

Thanks for this Richard

 

I will post on the Carers Facebook Wall and see what response I get.

best regards

Rudee

 

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