Cornwall care workers face 50% pay cuts

Care workers in Cornwall have met with the council to ask why their pay and pensions are being reduced.

The union Unison claims many of the workers face pay cuts of up to £10,000 a year due to budget cuts.

Many of the care workers worked for the NHS until services were taken over by Cornwall Council in 2008.

It contracted the services out to three not-for-profit organisations who are responsible for staff pay and conditions.

Care worker Marilyn Wynn, who is a single mother, said she could not afford to stay in her job.

"We understand that things are tough and that money has to be saved but looking at a 40% to 50% pay cut for staff, it's unbelievable."

'Absolutely catastrophic'

Unison said cutting costs would result in pay cuts of between 25% and 50% for each member of staff.

Stuart Roden, from Unison, said: "You can't take £4m out of a £20m budget and not know the implications.

"The overall impact of this is absolutely catastrophic."

A council spokesman said it had asked the Brandon Trust, Mencap and United Response to make savings.

The spokesman added: "It is not for the council to direct or instruct providers on how they respond to these requests to bring down costs and quite properly the providers are developing their own responses."

Steve Day from the Brandon Trust said: "Negotiations surrounding this haven't finished yet.

"We realise these are really significant cuts to peoples' wages and there isn't any way round this as far as we are concerned."