SWU and BASW are bringing the working conditions campaign to Westminster

A photo of Big Ben and Westminster abbey in London, England

MPs and Peers, it’s time to improve working conditions in social work so let’s roll up our sleeves together.

The Social Workers Union (SWU) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) launched the joint campaign “Stronger Social Work, Better Lives” at the BASW UK Conference this summer, and announced the launch of the Cross Party Group for Social Work at the SWU Conference last month.

Following on from that, SWU and BASW are holding an event at the UK Parliament next week to lobby MPs and Peers for better working conditions for social workers. Our nationwide campaign is fighting to ensure social workers have the working conditions they need to protect and support those who depend on their expertise.

We’re calling for:

  • Adequate and safe staffing
  • Sustainable workloads
  • Proper funding and investment in social work services
  • Better services through better professional development  
  • Recognition and respect for social work expertise
  • Improved mental health and wellbeing support for practitioners

The event will take place in Westminster on October 21st and represents a critical opportunity for the union and professional association to promote the campaign’s importance to legislators who have the power to effect change.

Thanks to your feedback via surveys carried out by SWU and BASW, we have a strong and persuasive body of evidence outlining why change needs to happen now. The severe impact that poor working conditions are having on the profession and delivery of services cannot carry on. Compared to the UK average, working conditions for social workers are worse than 90-95% of other employees in both the public and private sectors. That is completely unacceptable.

Better working conditions are urgently needed.

We need to retain social workers, prevent exhaustion and burnout among practitioners, and ensure that the profession is best equipped to support all those who need our help. We will be talking to MPs and Peers about this next week.

This event will also serve as the first meeting in this parliament session of the UK Cross Party Group for Social Work, a forum led by SWU and BASW for parliamentarians to discuss the importance of social work in our society and to champion the role of social workers.

You can follow all the conversations we have with parliamentarians and the commitments we secure from them on our social media channels from next Tuesday afternoon. We will also be keeping members informed of next steps for the campaign and how to get involved, following the event.