Denmark
(October 2016) Public services unions FOA reports that two private care companies, Intensiv Pleje and AK Service, have gone bankrupt leaving local municipalities to sort out the mess and ensure continued care for the companies' clients and employment for the workers affected. FOA says this takes the total of care company bankruptcies to nine this year and calls for urgent action to tackle the problem, including social clauses in procurement.
(January 2017) Employees at the Naturfidusen private childcare provider were not paid in December as the company went bankrupt. Public services union FOA also reported that another private care company had gone bankrupt taking the total to 36 since 2013. The union is concerned that increased pressure on municipalities to outsource these services will lead to more bankruptcies and more disruption and uncertainty for care workers.
(July 2016) The FOA public services union estimates that over 1000 workers have been affected by bankruptices in the care home sector over the past three years. Workers are affected by uncertainty about jobs, pay and conditions. The collapse of Pareta Care that operates facilities in the Egedal local authority is the latest in a series of failures involving 22 companies since early 2013. The union reckons that over 9500 care home residents have been affected. Read more at FOA (DK).
The government reaction to the latest banking crisis in Ireland is another budget with deep cuts across welfare and other public services. Tax rises and cuts in the minimum wage will hit low paid workers in general while new public sector workers (those taken on despite the recruitment freeze) will be on starting pay 25% lower than two years ago. Low paid non-teaching staff in schools in particular will be hit with 5% pay cuts next year. [Read more at > Impact->http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/budget-2011-education-cuts-school-secretaries-caretakers-cleaners-foot-bill-grant-cuts-impact-n-359.html]
