Faith leaders have met together under a joint initiative hosted by the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland, to launch a campaign to unite the views of the faith communities on an urgent call to Scottish Government for fair pay to all social care workers.

The text of the Declaration follows.

We believe in the importance of human dignity. We honour those people who serve, care for and support others so that this dignity can be respected and that all may have fullness of life.  We thank them for their time, hard work and compassion.

We believe in fairness and justice, and believe that all staff working in social care in Scotland today should be paid fairly for this fundamentally important work. We recognise the challenges today facing social care staff and providers, following the difficult years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the current challenges with recruitment.

We call on church and faith communities to encourage and support advocacy and fundraising for better social care in Scotland. We recognise recent commitment made to the Adult Care Workforce but call on  the Scottish Government to do everything within its power to ensure all frontline social care workers be paid a minimum of £12 per hour immediately, and that the appropriate funding is made available which  allows all social care staff to be recognised for their skills, experience and contributions, in whichever role they serve.