Local unpaid carer creates union for Unpaid Carers
Local carer creates Union for Unpaid Carers.
A carer from Harlow in Essex has created the first Union of Unpaid Carers in the UK. Leo Cleary, is among the over 5 million carers here in England. He left school at 16 and became a full-time employee for his local Burger King restaurant where he worked for 3 years, making his way up to a shift supervisor at the age of 18. He has worked for various other businesses in several different roles, until he started his own business in 2019. Covid hit and his business failed. He took on another full-time post, where he worked until January of this year when he became a registered carer for his 77-year-old Mother-in-Law.
Leo said “looking after my mother in Law as her carer is a very difficult task. I have been working with NHS nurses who have been coming every week to change the dressings on her legs from her open oedema wounds, and I can see how much they are struggling. They don’t have a lot of time with each patient because they have so many so see in a day, that I often end up changing the dressings myself to help them out. I manage all her medication for her, putting into little boxes every day so that she knows what medication to take and when, and if the prescription needs refilling, I have to order it 4 days in advance of it running out, I don’t drive so having to walk or get a cab to places takes up a lot of time too, not to mention the cost of taxis everywhere.”
When asked about the cost of living, he said “ I have seen the cost of bills raise by over 40% in the last few years, everyone is struggling financially, but carers seem to be getting the worst end of the stick. There is no financial support for us, over 1 million people claim Carers Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions, and that is only £81.90 per week, no one can survive on being paid £2.56 per hour.” He went on to say “In the general election, promises were made to review carers allowance, and the one person I thought would be able to get something done, was Ed Davey, he pledged in his manifesto that he would do everything he could to ensure that there was a proper review done on the Carers Allowance payment. How is he going to have the time to do that as the new Minister for Environment and Climate Change?” “ I want to see proper meaningful change happen for carers, that’s why I started a petition to demand that the Prime Minister halt all the legal proceedings against Unpaid Carers by the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), and actually work with them to repay the debt, not just criminalise people for failing to make a phone call, that petition gained over 40,000 signatures in just a couple of days. I have now decided to unionise the unpaid carers of the UK so we can be heard properly on issues that affect us.”
When asked about the Union he said “My aim is to see all unpaid carers working together to achieve progress. It is not fair that carers are left to feel isolated and vulnerable and that’s where the union will come in, we are not only a union of carers, we are also opening up a forum, where carers who have signed up to become a member can communicate with other carers for support, advice and guidance on matters that affect us all. I don’t want anyone who provides free care to the people they love to feel alone, so by being able to talk to other carers in the same position as you, we hope to be able to create a community for us all.”
If you would like further information of the National Unpaid Carers Union and Forum (NUCUF), please email leojacksoncleary@gmail.com.Local carer creates Union for Unpaid Carers.