SIPTU Care Sector Organiser Liz Cloherty highlighted Ireland’s current crisis in care and the significant shortage of Health Care Assistants (HCAs) at a European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) conference in Oslo, Norway, earlier this month.
EPSU represents eight million public service workers across Europe and is the largest trade union federation representing public service workers in Europe.
At the conference, Cloherty spoke about how Ireland’s policy of outsourcing care to the private, for-profit sector has resulted in a recruitment and retention crisis across the health sector, where many HCAs continue to earn the minimum wage or just above it.
SIPTU highlighted the need to address pay and conditions, professional recognition, safe staffing and career progression opportunities within the sector to ensure that we have the staff required in the future to deliver this care.
Cloherty said: “We called for HCAs to be recognised and respected within their occupation and noted that many members advised they had left their occupation due to the lack of recognition and career progression opportunities available to them.
“If these issues are not addressed, it will have a detrimental outcome for Ireland’s citizens who rely on the care they receive from this critical cohort of workers.”