Covid-19: Together, Social Workers Union (SWU) is asking social workers to tell Covid-19 experiences and demand better working conditions for social workers. During the pandemic, SWU has been inundated with concerns from social workers about their working conditions.
Launching the survey today, SWU General Secretary John McGowan said “To say that social work is a challenging profession is of course something of an understatement. We already know the impact on social workers of cut-backs to services and staffing. With the additional pressures regarding the impact of Covid-19 we are potential facing a crisis in the sector”.
McGowan highlighted that ‘we are listening, as is the media and the public, who have been our allies in bringing some of the issues social workers are facing to the forefront. We are launching a campaign in an effort to apply even greater pressure on the government and employers, so measures can be quickly put in place to better protect social workers’.
SWU is hoping to hear from as many social workers as possible to get a comprehensive view of the situation at work and have the data as proof of the extent of the problem.
To gather an account of experiences during this pandemic, SWU have put together a short survey for social workers to complete. With the findings from the anonymised survey, SWU will work with the media to this story, we will generate a movement on social media and call on our MPs for support.
In early July, SWU will share more information on how other trade unions can support and get involved with the campaign
