The German federal cabinet passed a law for better payment in old peoples' care and nursing professions.
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According to the draft bill drawn up by Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), unions and employers are to negotiate a collective wage agreement.
As a second step, Germany's government would be allowed to declare the agreement generally binding for Germany's entire nursing industry by decree.
If wage negotiations fail, minimum wages for nursing care would be set by the federal government, with one for unskilled workers and the other for skilled workers. A generally wage floor would then be applied to increase payment in nursing and care for the elderly across Germany.
"If we do not get higher wages, we will not attract enough people to work in nursing," commented Heil on Wednesday.
Approximately 1.6 million people in Germany work in the field of old people and nursing care.
With a steadily growing number of people dependent on nursing care, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) currently estimates that around 40,000 jobs in the nursing professions in Germany are unfilled.
Germany's government is hoping that the new law will enable more people to work in nursing care in Germany and thus cover the still growing demand for skilled workers.
Annelie Buntenbach, board member of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) told the German press agency (dpa) that because many people in nursing profession would already "be at their limit" and would flee from their profession so that "the shortage of nursing staff continues to worsen".
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) told the German media network RND on Wednesday that it was his wish that geriatric nurses in Germany earn at least 2,500 euros (2,800 U.S. dollars) a month. "The partially low wages do not fit at all to occupation, for which we need so much more new people," said Spahn.
The German Patient Protection Foundation had criticized it as "irresponsible" that Labor Minister Heil did not commit his ministry to the question of financing.
Eugen Brysch of the German patient foundation warned that the additional costs should not be carried by those in need of long-term care. "In nursing homes today, more than a third of the residents are already dependent on social assistance."
"If the wage increases are passed on to those in need of care, their own contributions to outpatient and inpatient care will explode," warned Brysch.
The bill still has to be formally passed by the German parliament and federal council. It is scheduled to come into effect at the end of the year. ■