Nursing homes are calling on the government to raise rates to improve salaries: "The sector is saying enough."

BarcelonaSocial sector professionals urge the government and parliamentary groups to approve a "credit supplement" that will improve the working conditions of their staff and begin the path toward equalizing the salaries of professionals in the field of dependency with those in healthcare. The organizations—from private centers and the third sector—consider the 5% increase approved last December to be "totally insufficient" and therefore propose doubling that amount, reaching 10%. "The sector is saying enough," they affirm.

In a joint statement, seven organizations call for a "national pact" that protects people from the most vulnerable groups: the elderly, children and youth at risk of exclusion, children with developmental difficulties or disorders, people with disabilities, and people with mental health problems. "We are convinced that if a credit supplement is requested to include 5%, it can also reach 10%. We cannot give in to this situation. The sector is saying enough," the signatories affirm.

Professional care workers in the private sector work with worse wages and conditions than their counterparts in the public and healthcare sectors. This precariousness leads to difficulty in filling staff and high turnover among nursing home workers due to the demanding nature of the work. Furthermore, it is estimated that In the coming years, with the progressive arrival of the generation of baby boomers, Another 20,000 workers are needed in nursing homes alone..

In this regard, the organizations are calling for broad consensus and an agreement between the government and the other parliamentary political forces to prioritize social services professionals and invest the necessary resources to achieve equal pay within four or five years. "Equal pay for equal work," the signatory organizations add.

Risk of collapse

In another statement, the Catalan Professional Association of Directors of Dependency Care Centers and Services (Ascad) also insisted that the underfunding of the sector, due to the outdated social security rates compared to the CPI, does not cover the real costs. In fact, companies have had to assume losses exceeding 21%. This organization criticizes the risk of system collapse, as it is pouring many centers to close doors either renounce the agreement on places -underfunded by Social Rights- to focus solely on private institutions, taking advantage of the fact that there is sufficient demand due to the needs of families.

The signatory entities are the Catalan Association of Health Entities (ACES), the Catalan Association of Healthcare Resources (ACRA), the Association of Dependency Care Centers (ACAD), the Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia (CSC), the Catholic Social-Health Centers of Catalonia (CESOCAT), the Catalan Hospitals Association (UCH), and the Union of Small and Medium-Sized Residences (UPIMIR).