Social Services
Union legal case delivers for live-in care workers
In January the vpod public services union won an important case for live-in (24 hours) care workers. The federal court ruled that 24-hour carers, who are placed in private households by temporary employment agencies, must be covered by the labour code. Previously, these workers had no protection which meant no limit to working hours and no rights to rest or time-off because the labour code didn’t apply to working arrangements in private households. The union will continue to campaign for live-in care workers’ rights as the ruling does not apply to those directly employed by households.
Negotiations in social care and early years education to resume
Service union ver.di is highlighting the essential role played by social care and early years education in the lead up to the resumption of negotiations that were suspended in March 2020. The union argues that workers in the sector were indispensable during the pandemic and their contribution needs to be recognised in relation to pay and working conditions. Ver.di underlines that the predominantly female workforce faces low recognition of their skills and competences, poor working conditions, low salaries, fixed-term contracts and part-time work. The challenges facing the sector are made worse
Survey reveals better pay and conditions in public elderly care
The Kommunal municipal services union has published an updated version of its regular report comparing pay and conditions in public and private elder care. The data comes from official statistics and the union’s survey of members. The latest figures show that full-time employees in municipally run elderly care earn an average of SEK 2,400 (€230) more per month than those in private elderly care providers. In 2020, the share of part-time employees was 70% among private providers, compared to 54% in municipally run elderly care and for temporary workers it was 41% in private companies and 31% in
Unions take initiative following care company scandal
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
Pay boost for care workers in Wales
Public service union UNISON has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh government that care workers in the country are to receive a bonus of £1000 after tax (€1200) in April, alongside the introduction of the real living wage. However, the union has warned that more needs to be done to encourage care workers stay or come into the sector. It has also expressed voiced disappointment that non-care staff are not covered. The union believes the Welsh government is responding to union and employer pressure because of the serious staffing crisis in care. UNISON has also been arguing for the early