THIS week I met with dedicated care workers from Cornwall. We have a large demand for social care here.

Our population tends to an older demographic and with many people leaving friends and family to retire down here, the availability of good care is especially important. Assistance for people who have disabilities to live independent lives and get support into work if they choose that path is also important. However, as we know, the social care system is close to breaking point. Thousands of elderly and disabled people are unable to get the level of care they need, while money continues to bleed out of the system. Skilled care workers are chronically underpaid for what they do, often at minimum wage, and so good people leak out of the system as it pays better to work in the local supermarket.

I worked as a teaching assistant at Falmouth School for seven years. Working in a school in a supporting role is another sector where the pay is very low – sometimes at minimum wage.

What these two sectors have in common, apart from the poor rates of pay, is that they are highly skilled jobs which are incredibly important to support our society. And that the people who work in them are far more likely to be women.

Next week, the Employment Rights Bill will be debated in Parliament. The provisions within it are too numerous to fit into this column, but some that will be particularly important are: sick pay, parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal from day 1; improving family friendly rights and flexible working; measures to tackle zero hour contracts; strengthening redundancy rights and tackling the nasty practice of fire and rehire.

However, on top of all of these, the Bill gives respect and recognition for social care workers and school support staff through a fair pay agreement in adult social care and the reinstatement of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body. This will be a gamechanger for the low paid workers, mostly women, who work in care and schools. It means that pay and terms and conditions for care workers and school support staff can be negotiated nationally and a minimum set across the country.

Of course, the funding issue will be crucial and reform towards more secure and better long-term funding arrangements for local authorities and schools will be vital.

But, I am so pleased that the government has chosen these two sectors to be the first to have the opportunity for fair pay agreements extended to them. Women who have caring responsibilities are often limited in the hours they can work and historically that has meant, however skilled and important their jobs are, they have not been properly rewarded or looked after for doing them and the pay can simply not be enough to live on. To change that will be transformational for so many.

This Employment Bill is a huge step forward and I am proud of it.

Jayne Kirkham

Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth