After a months-long campaign, care workers employed by Aspire Care and Support in Salford have achieved a £1925 pay rise, backdated to April 2022.

This means they have belatedly secured the same pay rise as their council-employed colleagues.

Aspire workers, through their trade union UNISON, held meetings with the company and lobbied and emailed Salford councillors for months to achieve this pay rise.

Aspire care worker Lesley said, “It’s no more than we deserve, everything is going up so it’s only fair that wages go up. We work hard in Aspire, we do a really good job for Salford, so we should get the wages we deserve.”

The workers gathered outside Salford Civic Centre on Wednesday to celebrate their victory and to urge other local care providers to offer a similar pay rise.

Salford UNISON Branch Secretary Steve North said: “This is a fantastic outcome secured by UNISON members, working in Aspire, who organised, campaigned and refused to let this go. This is their victory.

"We welcome the support from the council and their willingness to engage.

"We are now looking to them to engage with us to make sure that these workers don’t have to go through the same process in future years to demand what should be theirs by right.

"We remain committed to securing a future where all Aspire workers – and care workers generally – have access to the same pay and terms and conditions as their public sector colleagues.”