SENIOR councillors have backed a national campaign in support of great jobs.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is running a “Great Jobs Agenda” which sets out six key standards for employers.

They include fair pay, guaranteed hours, safe and healthy workplaces, proper union representation, decent treatment, and the chance to learn and progress.

The TUC said lots of jobs “aren’t great” but are “rubbish jobs done by brilliant people who deserve better.”

The initiative was supported at a meeting of Cumbria County Council’s Labour and Liberal Democrat-run cabinet.

A report said: “The agenda is similar to other employment charters and are voluntary initiatives that set out to describe good employment practices and recognise those employers who adopt them.”

The report suggested supporting the campaign demonstrated a public commitment to follow the employment practices.

Cabinet member Cllr Janet Willis, who represents Low Furness for the Liberal Democrats, gave her support to the project.

She said: “The campaign is not just about what the county council can do as an employer but also what it can do to promote standards to other  employers. Many of the standards closely mirror existing Cumbria County Council principles.”

Cllr Patricia Bell, fellow cabinet member for health and care services, said she was pleased the council had signed-up.

She plans for it to sign up to the Careforce commitment, a campaign run by care providers HC-One and the GMB union.

It aims to make caring a profession “respected, valued and aspired to,” by professionalising the social care workforce.

Cllr Bell, who represents Penrith East for the Liberal Democrats, said: “It promises to celebrate, promote and develop care work as a positive career option that makes a vital contribution to the quality of life in an ageing society.

“When someone describes themselves as ‘just a carer,’ something is wrong. These are the people who are always there, even on Christmas Day and there are many people who could not manage without them.”