Queen Supports Care UK/Bridgepoint Strikers!

This lunchtime I went to support Care UK strikers from Doncaster outside their real employer's headquarters at Bridgepoint Private Equity,  95 Wigmore Street, London, W1. I had just missed seeing Rock legend, Dr Brian May from the band "Queen" at the protest (see centre picture).

Apparently Brian had been driving past and saw the protest. Check out this report on FaceBook from one of the strikers "So just in London striking and Brian May of Queen walks over to me gives me a hug and says well done for what we are doing.... Absolutely gobsmacked"

Brian May tweeted  "Guys from Doncaster protesting destruction of NHS by Cameron. They are RIGHT. BBC shamefully not reporting this. Bri".

The Doncaster Care UK/Bridgepoint Private Equity protesters have suffered massive pay cuts since they were transferred from the NHS to Care UK. One striker I spoke to is losing £400 per month in wage cuts. Other strikers are new staff who want Care UK/Bridgepoint to pay them the UK Living Wage rate. They are now on their 63rd day of strike action. This is turning into one of the longest disputes in social care ever in the UK.

I understand that Private Equity investor Bridgepoint has huge investments in Personal and Social Care in the UK. This sector is a massive risk to Bridgepoint investors. Imagine what would happen to your reputation and investments if there was yet another social care scandal at a project they had recently taken over and got rid of experienced staff and replaced them with untrained and inexperienced workers on minimum wage and zero hour contracts?

Also with them were strikers from Your Choice Barnet ("YCB" in red tee shirts) who are on their 2nd day of strike action over pay cuts.  They also look after disabled children and adults and Tory Barnet Council is planning to cut their wages by an average 10%. The Doncaster strikers had shown them solidarity at thier picket line that morning and they were showing their support in return.

Bridgepoint, Care UK and is it "good business practice" to pay poverty wages?

Last week UNISON Strikers from Care UK in Doncaster tried to lobby the owners of their company, £8.7 Billion Private Equity firm Bridgepoint Capital.

Care UK won the contract to run former NHS care services in Doncaster. The strikers are trying to get a decent pay rise (following savage cuts in their pay and conditions -up to 35% of pay for some staff) and also a living wage for all new employees.

In the light of such questionable employment practices I  wondered what the Bridgepoint's stated policy is on ethical investment issues? I found here that apparently "We believe that it's good business practice to have strong environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles - and that building these principles into our business practises is good for our investors, employees, investee companies and their stakeholders in the long term.  Our approach is led by our core values, which we expect our teams to adhere to in the way they conduct themselves and represent Bridgepoint - and wherever relevant, in our environmental, social and governance policies".

also here I read that Bridgepoint "works with management teams to implement appropriate social policies in their operations and procedures. Typically, these focus on worker health and safety, labour rights and welfare". Oh, they are also "a signatory to the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment"

hmmmm - what twaddle. How can slashing wages and making its workers broke and homeless be "good business practice"? How in these circumstances do they "focus on worker health & safety, labour rights and welfare". What hypocrisy.

Of course companies that treat their workers like rubbish also treat their clients as rubbish as well.

Check out UNISON news here and Observer article here

Finally, I am willing to bet that a number of pension and insurance funds invest in Bridgepoint. Do you really want your retirement funded by exploitation and misery?