New EU Care Strategy: A step towards improved child and long-term care in Europe - and better employment conditions for workers in the sector

The European Care Strategy, as presented by the European Commission today, encompasses a summarizing and explanative chapeau communication along with proposals for Council Recommendations on access to affordable high-quality long-term care and a revision of the Barcelona targets early childhood education and care.

It sets out to define new ambitions goals for the sector, namely that by 2030:

• 50% of children below the age of 3 are in early childhood education and care and 96% of children between the age of 3 and the starting age for compulsory primary education are in early childhood education and care.
• long-term care is timely, comprehensive and affordable, allowing a decent standard of living for people with long-term care needs.

In order to improve working conditions and attract more people – especially men – to the care sector, the Strategy moreover encourages Member States to:

• promote collective bargaining and social dialogue with a view to improving wages and working conditions.
• ensure the highest standards of occupational health and safety.
• design continuous education and training for care workers.
• tackle gender stereotypes around care and launch communication campaigns.
• ratify and implement ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers.

As a long-time advocate for better working conditions and valorisation of health and care workers, CESI welcomes this initiative to address existing and rising challenges in the child and long-term care sector in the EU – with a focus on fair working conditions and training for workers in the sector as well as gender equality aspects in this regard, as also demanded previously by CESI.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “We would have welcomed more ambition in the Strategy in terms of investments, funding and staff recruitment and retention. However, in sum, even if they will not be binding, today’s proposed measures are a clear step forward towards a better valorisation of workers in two fundamental pillars of our societies: early childhood education and long-term care. We also positively note a clear gender focus in the Strategy. Working conditions are often inappropriate, and most workers in the sector are women. Enhancing the situation in the sector is therefore also a means to decrease gender inequalites.”

He added: “We appreciate in particular also the European Commission’s recognition of the central role of social dialogue for fair working conditions and pay in the sector. As a European trade union umbrella organisation representing also social service workers from many EU Member States, CESI clearly expects to become a social partner in any new European social dialogue committee for the sector, the creation of which is indicated by the European Commission as part of the Strategy.”

He concluded: “It is now vital that the Strategy and the proposed Recommendations are endorsed, adopted and implemented EU-wide. This is especially important for many rural and peripheral regions in the EU which are lagging behind in terms of early childhood education and long-term care services and which would benefit particulary.”