Exceptional State premium Covid19: the fight of home helpers to be recognized in the same way as caregivers

They are the great forgotten of exceptional state premium paid to caregivers for their contribution during the coronavirus crisis. However, they too were on the front line. Home care workers continued to work in sometimes difficult conditions, with the risk of being infected. And in mid-May 2020, they are asking for their involvement to be recognized.

Aurélie is one of those who have not given up their post. However, this mother of two disabled children could have asked to be arrested for childcare. But she preferred to continue taking care of her beneficiaries, the elderly, or the disabled. Every day, he needs energy to get them up, transfer them to an armchair, wash them or eat meals, and sometimes come back to change diapers … Not to mention the kilometers swallowed each day, so some are not not even reimbursed. “It is horrible what happens to us,” she says. We are already exhausted by the long days and the stress generated by the health crisis. “

Not having a bonus is a blow!
– Aurélie Zemour, life assistant with a Quiet Spirit, Vandoeuvre les Nancy

Aurélie is all the more indignant that she contracted the coronavirus during her work. She had to be arrested and infected her husband, who still suffers from breathing problems today.

Legitimate premium

The same goes for his colleagues, who feel forgotten by the state. They do not understand why Ehpad staff could benefit from it, and they do not, when they perform almost the same gestures as their nursing assistant colleagues. In addition, without their work, many of their beneficiaries would have come to clog hospitals.

It’s completely unfair! We replaced our sick colleagues with large hourly amplitudes and we too were exposed to the coronavirus.
– Audrey Vanderplaestse, life support with the Tranquil Spirit, Nancy

The Home Help Federations, which already stepped up to the plate in April when the bonus was announced, intend to keep going.
Véronique Scida, delegate of the French Federation of Services to the Person and Proximity (FEDESAP) in Meurthe-et-Moselle, explains that their premium is discussed between the State, the Departmental Councils and the CNSA, the National Solidarity Fund and of autonomy (which collects our famous day of solidarity). The question is who will manage this premium for home helpers.

We hope that the premium will also be paid by the State, for the sake of equity with the carers.
– Véronique Scida, delegate of FEDESAP 54

In his press release of April 15, the ministry of Health specified that “the Government also wishes that an exceptional premium be paid to the professionals of the medico-social, and in particular EHPAD, which take care with a dedication and an admirable courage the populations among the most vulnerable face to this epidemic. He will exchange views with local communities in the coming days on this subject. “
The door is therefore not completely closed.

Feeling of injustice

This sense of injustice did not start yesterday, but was accentuated by the coronavirus crisis. United federations such as FEDESAP, ADAPA, UNA and ADMR have been asking for recognition of their profession as a real profession in the health sector for a while, with an increase in wages to 1,500 euros per month.
Today, wages are close to the minimum wage for large hourly amplitudes. Aurélie or Audrey often start at 8 a.m. and finish at 7 p.m. and work weekends for 1,100 euros net per month.

These are jobs where you get up early, finish late, and give a lot of yourself, physically and psychologically.
– Véronique Scida, delegate of FEDESAP and director of Louvéa Nancy

“The risk if the state does not pay a premium is that we will no longer find enough carers while we are at the foot of the cliff “, explains Véronique Scida. “The number of dependent elderly people continues to grow and will explode by 2050. However, we are already missing 300 employees in the department of Meurthe et Moselle alone! We really need to upgrade our profession!“
At the end of April, a petition was launched: ‘We auxiliaries’. The movement is supported by several personalities from the political or social world. Home helpers make four proposals to enhance their profession. They hope they will be heard quickly.