Union and community leaders as well as public officials took to the steps of City Hall Tuesday to call for an end to the mistreatment of home health aides in the Bronx and statewide.

As part of the effort to get better pay for the workers, the United Health Care Workers Union and City Council launched a campaign that includes TV, radio and print ads. Union leaders say the health care workers provide quality care to the elderly and homebound but are paid poverty wages. They say the workers also have no health coverage.

The union and some City Council members want all certified home health agencies to pay better, provide employer funded health insurance and cease doing business with contracting agencies that refuse to adhere.