A union has criticised Ceredigion councillors’ failure to unanimously back a recommendation to substantially boost care workers’ pay to tackle a recruitment crisis.

Cllr Lyndon Lloyd’s proposal to use council reserves to increase care staff pay to £15 per hour to address the high number of care vacancies, did not win the support of some of his colleagues at a meeting of Ceredigion’s Healthier Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as the Cambrian News reported last week.

Unison Cymru Wales said that care work is “completely undervalued”, with many staff suffering in-work poverty and relying on Universal Credit to survive.

The union revealed most care in Ceredigion is provided for the council by private and non-profit companies where typically care staff earn the minimum wage of £8.91 per hour.

The wages of care workers employed directly by the council fall just below £9.50 per hour.

The union says it’s “time for councillors to have an honest debate about how public service workers, who keep the community running, should be much better rewarded.”

Alison Boshier, Unison Ceredigion branch secretary, said: “It’s no wonder there’s recruitment crisis in care work. There’s a huge responsibility in supporting vulnerable people, yet they’re wages are scandal.”

Simon Dunn, Unison Cymru Wales regional organiser, said: “Care workers must be treated with dignity and respect and Cllr Lloyd was right to call for a big boost to their wages and for the council to allocate significantly more money to care services.”