Report finds care sector exodus across Europe

A new report by EPSU, the European Federation of Public Service Unions – which represents 8 million public service workers in unions across Europe – has shown that the European care sector has lost 421,000 workers since 2019.

EPSU general secretary, Jan Willem Goudriaan, explained: “The outbreak of Covid-19 exacerbated many problems in long term care already identified by EPSU for years – such as lack of funding, labour shortages, increasing psychosocial risks for care workers and accelerated privatisation of services. This must stop. We need to reverse the trend.”

Responding to news of the exodus, union confederation the ETUC called for investment and fair wages in the care sector.

ETUC deputy general secretary Esther Lynch said: “Care work is physically, and emotionally demanding, and grossly undervalued.”

“The wages and conditions of care workers have to improve. Women make up 76 % of the 49 million care workers in the EU, filling essential but under-paid and precarious jobs to take care of our loved ones.”

https://www.epsu.org/article/epsu-report-reveals-hundreds-thousands-long-term-care-workers-leaving-sector

https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/low-pay-causing-exodus-care-workers