All mums are carers, but many mums are also Carers. Some, like me, didn't really realise the fact until years in - although I’ve been 'on duty' as a fulltime Carer or my dd night and day, 168h a week, for the last 14 years. Although it was Carers'Week last week, most of us Carers didn’t notice any difference (although occasionally we heard the great and the good telling us how selfless we are: carerwithattitudeuk.wordpress.com/2014/06/15/was-it-carers-week-im-only-a-carer-so-i-didnt-notice/). Right.
We know that already – for decades the UK has been reliant for decades on not paying 7 million of us to do most of the day-to-day caring work in this country. But being a carer brings poverty, isolation, stress, ill health, and exclusion. It jolly well shouldn’t!
And so we carers are going on strike – virtually. (After all, we can hardly stop caring for those we love) www.caretostrike.co.uk/ Why? There’s no way that anyone can, could - or should - compensate us for the love and the sheer amount of time we give up voluntarily. But you can prevent this care from wrecking our lives, our health and our futures and making us an unwilling burden on the state when our caring work is over. I’ve already developed two chronic, painful, disabling and dangerous conditions as a direct result of my life. They are now investigating a third . What happens to my DD if I die? For a start it will cost the state a huge amount more!
So far there are only 718 virtual strikers signed up (the numbers are rising fast), but the annual cost of replacing them would cost the state £94 million! That’s not small potatoes. Multiply that sum by the hundreds of thousands of other carers too anxious, dulled, or overworked to take action and you get some idea of the size of the problem.
We’re not striking for much. Most shop stewards would laugh at our modest demands. But what we are asking for would make an enormous difference to our lives and futures compared to the pat on the head that is all we currently get:
1: Carers Allowance for all live-in carers, irrespective of age or employment, just as DLA/PIP is given to those we care for. Currently Carers can only claim the generous £61pw if they earn less than £100 pw- and carers charities put their energy into getting people to claim rather than lobbying for a better deal.
2: A state-funded occupational pension scheme for each fulltime carer to reflect what we might expect to have accrued if we were working, say, only an 80 hours a week at minimum wage.
3: Solid practical careers advice and training for working-age carers to help us train for and sustain appropriate work within our environment and to provide us with the luxury of a working life should our caring duties finish
4: Social housing to recognise the requirements of disability and caring in the provision and allocation of rooms. Sufficient appropriate accommodation purpose-built for the disabilities of the local population – because if it is not provided this is a huge stress on carers.
5: State money ONLY given to carers’ organisations that offer properly targeted transport-accessible fit-for-purpose help for every carer who needs it.
Further details are in the Carers Manifesto carerwithattitudeuk.wordpress.com/five-simple-ways-to-change-carers-futures/
Each signature sends an email to Ian Duncan Smith asking him personally (and politely) to honour these requests.
We carers are truly between a rock and a hard place – we have no union to represent us, and so, despite our numbers, we are treated very lightly and all troubles and difficulties brushed aside as 'unavoidable'. This should not be the case! If you are a Carer as well as a carer, please sign and support www.caretostrike.co.uk/
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
For more information on Mumsnet Campaigns, check our our Campaigns hub.
Mumsnet campaigns
Are you a Carer? Please sign up to the Carers (Virtual) Strike 21 June 2014
16 replies
carerwithattitude · 17/06/2014 15:50
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.