Staffing levels, Corporate Social Responsibility, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium

The FOA public services union is calling on the government and municipalities to take urgent action to tackle staffing shortages in eldercare. A recent survey found that three out of four local authorities didn't have enough eldercare staff and the situation is set to deteriorate as many workers retire. The sector needs around 13000 new recruits every year but the level is currently half that. The union says that employers use a lot of part-time work to save money and while many employees in the sector actually want to work full time. There is also a question of higher pay for young workers.

The FOA trade union highlights figures from the VIVE research organisation that show massive variations in staffing levels in eldercare establishments across the country. The staff to resident ratio at night ranges from 1:8 to 1:41, while the evening shift ratio varies from 1:2.7 to 1:11. The variation of ratios on day shifts is less dramatic but still ranges from 1:1.4 to 1:4.2. FOA argues that the varying needs of residents can't account for such variations and that in many cases homes have failed to increase staffing to cope with the higher demands of older residents with health problems

The FOA trade union has called for urgent action to address training and recruitment in eldercare. It quotes a new report revealing a sharp decline in the numbers of people being trained to work in the sector. It was already forecast that there would be a staffing shortage of around 40000 by 2028 but the figures on training - a decline of 36% in the number of young people on training courses - suggest an even greater shortage. The government has agreed to a request by FOA to convene a summit of politicians, employers and unions to debate how to tackle the problem.

The DSR nurses’ union reports on the findings of a new survey by the Danish Nursing Council (DNC) that exposes the impact of staff shortages on services. The findings reveal that virtually all respondents (97%) said that they had experienced too few nurses at work in the past month, with 82% of these saying it had impaired patient safety. The DNC study says that the shortage of nurses has several consequences, including the closure of beds and a negative impact on patients' conditions. About a third had experienced patients being sent home or transferred before it was professionally sound.

The FOA and DSR trade unions have both published official data revealing the reality of overwork, understaffing and low pay in the health and social care sectors. FOA quotes from the latest survey by the Danish Working Environment Authority covering 30,000 workers. This shows that 23% of social and health care assistants say that they have often or constantly felt stressed within the past two weeks. Of all the industry groups, 'Residential Institutions and Home Care' is the sector where the largest proportion of employees feel stressed. The union says that understaffing, a high rate of sick

The vpod/ssp public services union has launched an initiative to support its local activists in mobilising to win better pay and conditions for health workers across the country. The strike at the CHUV University Hospital in Lausanne was the starting signal for the union’s “Road to Strike” organizing campaign. Vpod/ssp argues that the situation in health establishments has worsened due to the pandemic with many workers facing burnout and leaving the sector. The persistent staffing shortages undermine working conditions and further pressures come from private health companies’ search for profit

The vpod/ssp trade union is mobilising for a national demonstration of health workers in Berne on 30 October. The aim of the protest is to highlight the efforts and sacrifices that health workers have made in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Key demands include a COVID bonus but also action to deal with the long-standing problems of pay and understaffing in the sector. The union is also calling for measures to improve training, work-life balance and retirement provision and argues that pay increases should reflect the arduousness of many health workers’ jobs.

Several unions representing workers in early years education came together on 5 May in a day of strike action and a demonstration in Brussels. Workers are angry about the impact of the pandemic on the sector and the failure of the authorities in the Wallonia and Brussels regions to address their concerns. The unions were also demanding a revaluation of pay in the sector and a range of other measures to deal with staffing issues, leave, contracts and increased public funding.

A documentary on Norwegian TV and a survey by the FOA trade union in Denmark expose similar problems facing workers in eldercare as they have too many clients, leaving those requiring care regularly seeing lots of different carers for short periods of time. Reacting to the documentary the Fagforbundet trade union highlighted the problem of so many care staff working part-time, chasing shifts to try to make ends meet and being part of a continuing turnover of staff so that there is little continuity for those needing care. In Denmark, the FOA argues that staff spend too little time with those

A major survey of more than 4000 workers by the FOA trade union shows that 35% of employees in the health and care sector have experienced threats of violence in the past year. This compares to only 6% for the general population. Some 30% say that they have been subjected to physical violence. The union is worried that the real figures may be even higher as it believes many employees have come to accept that violence and threats are part of the job. The evidence indicates that the most vulnerable places of work are psychiatry, nursing homes and special and disability areas. FOA highlights the

Public sector unions have welcomed the outcome of negotiations with the employers and government which have delivered a package of pay-related measures backed with DKK 6.8 billion (€910 million) of funding. A number of different groups of workers across the public sector will benefit, particularly those affected by major staff shortages. Around DKK 1.3 billion (€170 million) will go into health and elder care, for example. The package will have a wider impact than anticipated as, in addition to the higher pay for occupations like nurses, care workers, social educators and prison staff, a much

The FOA trade union has sent a wake-up call to politicians from all sides about the need to address pay in the welfare sector. The union brought together 1200 of its shop stewards from across the country in a two-day conference to discuss pay in health, social care and other services and to really gauge the feeling at the workplace. The message from the conference was a mounting concern that society does not recognise the value of welfare work. FOA warns of increasing frustration and discontent among workers if action is not taken. It is already extremely difficult to recruit workers to the

With a general election imminent the FOA trade union has welcomed a proposal from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to set aside an extra DKR 3 billion (€400m) a year for better pay and working conditions in the public sector. The funds would be phased into the public collective bargaining from 2024 onwards and are aimed at helping to solve the recruitment challenges facing the sector over the coming years. According to SDP calculations, the proposal could mean a salary increase of around DKK 2,000 (€270) a month for 235,000 public sector employees if DKR 2.5 billion is spent on better pay.

The revelations of poor treatment of both workers and residents by the Orpea care multinational have prompted unions across Europe to take action. In Belgium, the company has been approached to address questions of staffing levels and working conditions with the unions underlining the essential link between the well-being of workers and that of the people they care for. The unions are calling for negotiations on both the quality of employment and quality of service along with initiatives to make working in the sector more attractive to tackle the need to retain staff and recruit more workers