For many of the around 10,000 employees, the past year was a real challenge, says the CEO of Diakoneo, Mathias Hartmann. He praised the staff for their commitment, without which the challenges posed by Corona would not have been mastered.
Diakoneo’s association of various institutions, organizations and companies also contributed to the fact that operations could be maintained. In the area of elderly care, for example, it was possible to deploy staff from other facilities on a voluntary basis in old people’s homes if there was a bottleneck there due to Corona.
Deacon comes through the crisis stable
With a turnover of around 650 million, they got through the crisis stable. According to the commercial director, Dietmar Motzer, this was primarily possible due to the state subsidy program. On the other hand, it is difficult to give exact figures; the funding amounts to several million euros, he explains. With around 1.9 million euros, employees were also given a special payment, regardless of the area in which they worked. That is the equivalent of 250 euros per person.
The planned investments of around 57.9 million euros could also be implemented and this is how it should continue this year. For example, further investments are to be made in the locations in Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach and Nuremberg. Around 90 million euros will be spent on building a new clinic at the Hallerwiese Clinic and Cnopfsche Children’s Clinic. Further investments are also to be made in the area of facilities for people with disabilities.
Collective bargaining coverage: federal policy called for action
Even if the employees in the care of the elderly received special payments from Diakoneo, a comprehensive collective agreement in care of the elderly failed because of the Caritas veto. Mathias Hartmann, CEO of Diakoneo, is also critical of the tariff negotiated by Verdi at the time. According to Hartmann, this tariff was worse than the church tariffs in the area of care for the elderly.
If the tariff negotiated by Verdi had become binding, the deacono would have had to explain to the cost bearers why she pays better than many others and the higher salaries that deacono pays in elderly care might no longer have been sustainable, said the chairman of the board. He therefore calls on the Federal Ministry of Health to act. This must now work on binding to a collective agreement for all carriers.
Diakoneo is a great employer
Around 10,000 employees work at Diakoneo, a merger of the diaconal service provider “Diak” from Schwäbisch Hall and the Diakonie Neuendettelsau. There are around 200 facilities in the fields of health, care and education in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Poland. On July 1st, 2021 Diakoneo celebrated its second anniversary.
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