Following the announcement by Unite the union that Lothian’s drivers and engineers have voted to strike from 3 a.m. on 2 August, Social Care Alba, one of Edinburgh’s leading care and support providers have confirmed the extent to which this will affect those requiring social care and support across the capital.
Nataly Wilson, Founder and CEO of Social Care Alba comments, “This strike is going to have a serious impact on those that require assistance as 95.7% of our current employees use busses as the main form of transport to travel to and from those needing care, so we can only assume that other carers across the city will be depending on busses too.
“We are working as hard as possible to put provisions in place to ensure that our employees have the alternative travel options otherwise those that they care for will be left stranded over the weekend. We are also urging other companies across Edinburgh involved in the care sector to do the same.”
Unite the union have commented that more than 1,700 members are ready to take discontinuous strike action during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival after rejecting an offer from the city’s bus company Lothian by 59.4 per cent.
Lothian Buses had offered a 2.7 per cent pay increase and further measures designed to improve the workplace culture. This included bringing in external experts to assist management and the workforce. The strike action will commence from 3 a.m. on 2 August.
Social Care Alba was established to provide support to people living in their own home. The care and support is based upon core values underpinned by the Health & Social Care Standards. Their vision is one of person centred support, which incorporates values of dignity and respect, privacy and inclusion, choice and realising potential – as well as safety, equality and diversity.
We are continuously looking to the future, planning ahead and anticipating future demands, thus allowing them to recruit, train and plan services in advance with the support and inclusion of staff.
