ANGRY care workers took to the streets on Saturday to protest at the loss of their posts.

The council staff, who visit the homes of the elderly and sick, are set to be made redundant from March 31 when the council privatises the team to save money.

But they are determined to get another hearing from the council, and from noon onwards they were knocking the doors of residents in Walcot in a bid to drum up signatures.

They will present the petition at the Civic Offices on March 9 at the meeting of the council’s Conservative cabinet, in a bid to spark another hearing of their case.

To date, they have collected about 7,500 signatures opposing the cuts.

Ann-Marie Black, leading the charge for the homecarers as their Unison representative, said they have chosen Walcot because it is the ward of Peter Mallinson, the Tory councillor responsible for adult social care.

She said: “The majority of people who have signed the petition have known home care for most of their lives, either through their children or as themselves as adults.

“They know what a trusted and dedicated service they are.

“They are disgusted they’re going to sack 64 workers who have cared for them most of their lives.

“We’re going knocking door to door and explaining what exactly Coun Mallinson is doing.

“He wants to be elected again in May, and he’s outsourcing people’s vital services.

“People need to know the truth about what he’s doing to the people of Swindon.”

But Coun Mallinson (pictured right) replied that the publically-run home care team was simply far too expensive – costing £45 an hour in total, against around £15 per hour in the private sector. “It’s just unacceptable,” he said. “As far as these costs being where they are, a lot of it is down to them just not being able to get their efficiency up high enough.

“They’re costly people to employ. We can buy in the same service to the same level, at a third of the cost.

“We have to protect the future. We’re making sure we can still afford to pay for domiciliary care in a few years’ time, because the demography is against us.

“If instead of going out and getting signatures they worked on improving their efficiency and productivity, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”