On the occasion of the International Day of Caregivers, the service union Verdi has called on the newly formed federal government to quickly establish better framework conditions in nursing and elderly care to prevent a “care collapse.” Verdi’s federal board member Sylvia Bühler stated on Sunday that the constant overload and the guilt of not being able to professionally care for sick and dependent people is driving many care workers out of the profession. According to Bühler, the Union and SPD had agreed in the coalition agreement to establish “appropriate staffing” in hospitals and nursing care. She emphasized that there must be enough care workers for “good care” and opposed a reduction in care quality. The staffing model PPR 2.0 developed by Verdi, the German Hospital Association and the German Nursing Council must be consistently implemented. Bühler criticized that the new federal government intends to set up commissions according to the coalition agreement instead of immediately addressing the known problems in the healthcare sector. Verdi demands that the federal subsidy for statutory health insurance be dynamic and that contributions from welfare recipients should be financed by taxes. The nursing insurance should also be relieved, for example, by reducing the contributions of caregivers for pension insurance. Verdi advocates for a “Solidarity Nursing Guarantee” under which contributions to nursing insurance should be levied on stock dividends and rental income.
Verdi calls for immediate action to prevent care collapse
