Exploitation

Serious abuses in 24-hour care

Around 2100 people in Vorarlberg are dependent on 24-hour care. In many cases, however, the caregivers are exploited.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com - pixel-shot.com (Leonid Yastremskiy))

Many caregivers in Vorarlberg work under precarious conditions - without health insurance, fair pay or sufficient rest periods. The trade union has denounced the abuses in 24-hour care and sparked a debate.

On duty day and night, hardly any time off, no health or accident insurance - for many of the approximately 2100 24-hour caregivers in Vorarlberg, this is a harsh reality, according to the union. They look after people in need of care around the clock - and are themselves treated inhumanely, the pay is a mockery. Some live in unacceptable conditions - without their own space to retreat to, overtired and exploited by dubious placement agencies that have one thing in mind above all else: making a fat profit. "There are caregivers who work through two or three weeks without even coming out the door once. If you fall ill, you're out of luck - most of them don't have health insurance. They are on vacation when the three weeks of childcare are over," said Reinhard Stemmer, ÖGB regional chairman, at a press conference last week. Two questions arise above all: who is actually responsible for these conditions? And will the outcry from those affected and employee representatives be heard?