Living wage going up but us poor carers loose out

[18Amanda27h]

I am a Full time carer & really struggling with my own issues.Why oh why can't the Government listen to us hard working Carers? We are saving the Government from billions.It's not a question of being work shy & sitting down all the time.Two years ago I had a hip replacement, & it's failed me totally.As I never had the aftercare as my Husband s social worker was annoyed with me for having help from his carers.I am utterly exhausted, & really cry at times.If only the government who realise what a sterling job we do.We try and keep our loved loves out of hospital. Rant over.Regards Amanda h

[Robin_1704]

I could not agree more. Carers are increasingly becoming discriminated against in almost all forms of support and it has to stop. We receive less in benefits than those seeking employment yet we work well beyond the 35 hours (who came up with that number?!) a week that the government seems to think we do. Personally I am on caring duty 24/7 for my partner with mental health issues. What am I supposed to say to her when she's having suicidal thoughts - sorry, I've done my 5 hours for today, hold that thought until tomorrow morning?!

Who will be the voice for the carers? As long as we sit there saving the government thousands of pounds they won't care about us. I've cared for my partner, my father, and my grandmother, and the system has always failed me one way or another.

My rant is well and truly not over

[Chris From The Gulag]

There is one voice on here whose eyes and ears are always open.

Finance ? One of the " BIG TWO " , support services being the other.

2017 ? Government in total control over whatever policies they persue , no opposition worthy of note.

Our supporting organisations ? Lobbying is a buzz word used for more than a decade.

Throwing china / eggs at a 6 brick deep wall maybe a better description of what lobbying achieves in relation to the Big Two.

There was some hope once ..... 2009 thread ( News section ).

As it stands , plenty of sympathy around , preciously little else.

[18Amanda27h]

Happy Easter to all carers.Hope. I hope that you all manage to have some Me time.I think if Nurses strike then carers should as well.But the government will never listen.The whole situation is terrifying to say the least with a broken NHS & crumbling welfare system.Surely can't the government see that us carers are doing a sterling job by saving the hospitals & also saving bed blocking..It's a scary time.regards Amanda h

[Suzanne_1507]

There was a petition about it. The Government responded and it contained these paragraphs:

"Formal carers, i.e. those who are employed as “professional” carers, do of course need to receive all the protections that employment law offers, including receiving at least the National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage from their employers."

"Informal carers are those who provide care for family or friends and they do receive help through the benefit system, primarily through Carer’s Allowance (CA). The main purpose of CA is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It has never been designed to be a carer’s wage or to replace all lost earnings."

Informal carers???? It's a full-time, busy job and we get it in the neck if we screw up in some way! We quite rightly get angry when formal carers who are employed to care get it wrong. Yet, we are the ones caring for some extremely complex people that the formal system has dismissed because they are unable to provide for them/care for them/decided they are too unpredictable. How come it's okay for the formal carers to say "No" and, instead, we are expected to pick up the burden and pieces?

Never designed to be a carer's wage or replace all lost earnings? Why not? If you pay "Formal" carers to do the caring for a certain number of hours per week (or for working in something like a care home) then why on earth are we not accorded the same amount of respect and monetary reward? Instead, we are lumped into the benefits system, at the mercy of the DWP/ATOS/Capita/JobCentrePlus etc AND we have the attached stigma associated with being "on benefits". How many programmes are there about people on benefits these days? How many times do you hear references to "benefit scroungers" or "lazing around on benefits" - the latter phrase attributed to the nasty IDS! That includes us and it is so hurtful and distressing. Our own Government dismisses us in the category of lounging on benefits!

[Chris From The Gulag]

If I were " The System " , why take any notice ?

6 million + carers are " Content " to accept the terms and conditions outlined on our infamous Lord Kitch Recruitment Poster ... after all , even both our supporting organisations claim the caring should be a choice.

Back in 2009 , measures were taken to quell the growing discontent amongst many carers ( 2009 Thread ). So successfully that not even a murmour is now heard in comparison.

We , The System , can now turn our attention to preserving the wealth of the few at the expense of the many ... and we have been doing just that for centuries.

Save us £ 132 Billion a year ? Good on you , a few medals on offer each year in recognition.

Can you make it nearer to £ 140 Billion next year ? Might need a few giveaways on the old tax front.

After all , carers themselves pose no threat. No even a hint of any action , dissent anywhere.

The chains that enslave you to The System ... heavier now than , say , 7 years ago ?

If it weren't for Trussells and others like them , we might have to have rolled out some mobile soup kitchens ... just to keep you caring , of course ?

Independent forums ? CareWatch remains accessible but lies dormant , perhaps permanently.

One forum has closed ... no real loss there ... another remains as one outlet even if any sign of discontent growing again , may well be closed , or amended to exclude several threads.

When it comes to the bigger question of where do carers fit , most readers / posters nowadays simply switch off ... we did do a good job back in 2009 , didn't we ?

Why upset the gravy train ........... ?

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The counter argument ? Used a lot on CarerWatch years ago but , probably , totally lost on this Forum ?

Good exercise , especially this Issue ... trying to defend the indefensible ... from OUR stand point.

Trouble is , it does NOT need defending as far as The System is concerned !

It just is ....The System ....