The 22 strong SNP Group on Glasgow City Council today backed striking social care workers and called upon management to get back to meaningful negotiation with Unison. The SNP have also called upon the Labour administration to provide additional resources to Social Work to help it resolve the dispute which is about to enter its second week. Unison members including social workers and practice team leaders are also now being balloted over the next fortnight in support of their social care worker colleagues.The current dispute centres on a job evaluation exercise which staff say failed to recognise the core tasks they perform and as a consequence has placed staff on a lower salary.

In a statement to workers today the SNP's Personnel Spokesperson, Alex Dingwall said:

'The recent Social Work Inspection Agency report on the City's Social Work Services stated that many Operations Managers, Practice Team Leaders and Social Care Workers remained uncertain and confused about roles and responsibilities.

"Senior managers told us that as they viewed many social care workers effectively as 'trainees' who would eventually undertake a social work qualification. They considered it important that these workers carried increasingly complex cases to provide them with relevant experience."

The Inspection Report continued by stating that outwith child protection there was no clear distinction between the work of a social worker and that of a social care worker.

It is clear that this level of complex working is not reflected in the current job profile which fails to acknowledge the para-professional role of social care workers.

We recognise that strike action is always the option of last resort for employees and impacts not only upon service users but also upon the families of staff engaged in strike action.

We therefore support workers in calling for Social Work Services to enter into meaningful negotiations to resolve this dispute and for the Labour Administration to provide any additional resources to Social Work Services in order to reach an agreement.'