CARE workers are being urged to share their experiences working with disabled and elderly people in Erith and Thamesmead in a new survey launched today (Dec 18).

Erith and Thamesmead MP Teresa Pearce is aiming to better understand the working conditions of care workers and how they can be improved for both workers and their clients.

She said many care workers are not given the recognition they deserve and the government's failure to crack down on employers not paying staff the National Minimum Wage has led to workers feeling 'undervalued and unmotivated'.

She added zero-hour contracts, wages below the National Minimum Wage, the lack of basic employment rights and poor working conditions are ‘not acceptable’.

Survey questions focus on employment rights, support networks, salary, and personal views.

Ms Pearce said: “Care workers provide invaluable support to elderly and disabled people, making them feel comfortable in their own homes.

“Given that our population is aging, and that we are living longer than ever before, it is clear that more and more people are going to need the assistance of homecare services in the future.”

She added: “At the moment, many care workers are not being given the recognition that they deserve.

“This Government has failed to enforce the National Minimum Wage and crack down on employers who fail to pay their staff a minimum wage. This has led to many care workers feeling undervalued and unmotivated.

“By failing to ensure that care workers are treated with the respect that they deserve, this Government risks failing those that the sector is there to care for.

“This is why I have launched this care worker survey today, to learn more about the experiences of my constituents, who work as care workers, and also the experiences of care workers who work in my constituency.”

She said: “Care workers should be valued and supported. It is vital that they feel secure so that they can provide the best, most consistent possible service to the vulnerable people they assist.

“I would urge anyone who works, or who has worked, as a care worker to complete this survey and to share their views as soon as possible.”

Answers can remain anonymous and all personal details will be treated as strictly confidential.

The survey will remain open until January 29, 2014. Results are due to be published on February 1 to coincide with Dignity Action Day.

For more information, visit the Care Sector Survey website.