The problem of caring for caregivers: “Sometimes we have to care for older people who are younger than us” | EUROtoday

The work of caregivers involves the fore. A wage that’s too low, additional time, the efficiency of duties that don’t initially correspond to their function and little, if any, social recognition… This is how this work is offered, to which we’ll all should entry at some point. How to vary that dynamic?

Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights, doesn’t have the magic bullet, however he does have the dedication to deal with this debate, as step one in the direction of an answer. This Wednesday they organized a day with the concentrate on older folks, which inevitably entails addressing the situations of their caregivers. And I established the target: to vary the mannequin of this work.

90% of the inhabitants says they need to age at dwelling for so long as attainable earlier than getting into a nursing dwelling. To this finish, the Council of Ministers plans to quickly approve a Proximity Care Strategy and one Reform of the Dependency Lawduring which the prevention of occupational dangers and the well being of caregivers would be the key.

This is what he claimed on the spot.Care with rights“, held this Wednesday at the Ateneo de Madrid, which was also attended by Yolanda Daz, second vice president and minister of Labor and Social Economy, and three professionals from the sector. The writer Bob Pop act as presenter.

During the event, Díaz stressed the need to dignify the profession of caregiver. I highlighted the relevance of this work for older people, a sector that continues to grow. “He 20% of the Spanish inhabitants is over 65 years previous and that isn’t going to cease growing,” Díaz recalled. Therefore, the prevention of occupational risks and the health of caregivers will be central aspects of these reforms, according to Pablo Bustinduy.

Julissa González, a worker in a residence, shared her experience: “The majority of us are international girls.” Carmen López, a home help worker, added that the job of caregiver involves multiple roles: “We are usually not solely caregivers, however many instances we’re additionally psychologists, nurses, nannies, we stroll the canine, and so forth.” She also highlighted the inequality in the distribution of care tasks within families: ““70% of dependent people are cared for by a member of their family and it is almost always by women.”

Yolanda Díaz insisted on the necessity to “revalue” the work of caregivers, each when it comes to wage and social notion. “We have a revolution pending, the care revolution. It is the challenge of the world of work but also of society,” she emphasised. The discount of inequality, whether or not gender or age, was additionally a central theme of her intervention. “Sometimes, we have to care for older people who are younger than us. After a certain age we can't continue,” González mentioned.

This caregiver expressed the necessity to publicly acknowledge her work: “We need to make the work of caregiver more legitimate.” Yolanda Díaz additionally identified the deprofessionalization of this work: “Right now we are in a time of change and transition,” and highlighted the discrimination that some caregivers could undergo as a result of lack of satisfactory appreciation of their work. “Many of the discriminations we suffer have to do with the fact that work is not adequately valued,” mentioned Daz.