Labour MPs get behind Social Care campaign

A Month ago I wrote a piece attacking the scandal of the care workers who don’t receive the minimum wage. It followed an EDM from Labour MP Dave Anderson (himself a former care worker) that called for tough action to be taken against those who are responsible and ensuring that those who care for many of our most vulnerable citizens get the minimum wage (obviously they should be paid more, but the minimum wage should be the absolute legal floor as things currently stand).

I was also quite critical of Labour MPs, noting that only 20 of them had signed the EDM – even though defending those who are exploited by their workers (especially those who work so hard in such an important sector) should be something Labour MPs do constantly.

Tonight I checked the number of signatures on EDM 349, and I’m pleased to say there’s been a significant improvement over the past month. 100 MPs have now signed it – 73 of them Labour MPs.

This is an incredibly important issue – especially as the government recently suggested that non-compliance was discovered in 48% of cases that HMRC had investigated. But with more local councils signing up to better standards (and fair wages), the scandal of care workers receiving less than the minimum wage may be one that gets tackled after all.

Labour MPs who signed this EDM – especially Anderson who put it forward – deserve real credit for that.