A thousand healthcare employees have lost their jobs or are at risk of losing it because they have been at home for more than two years with long-term covid, the FNV trade union reported on Monday.
So far, more than 4,200 healthcare workers with long-term covid have reported to a special contact point of the union. Anyone who is ill for more than two years can be fired.
According to a spokesperson for FNV, only “a handful” of employees sitting at home have been able to make an arrangement with the employer, so that they can remain in service for longer.
Three quarters of the reporters who worked in nursing homes and hospitals think they have become infected there, reports FNV vice-chairman Kitty Jong. The union will hand over a report to the House of Representatives on Tuesday containing the findings of the hotline, which has now been in existence for six months.
According to FNV, one in three reporters had to incur costs for rehabilitation themselves and had to hand in a quarter of hours at work. Jong: “It is incredibly distressing that the people in care who have helped vulnerable people well through the corona crisis have now become vulnerable themselves and have been forced to leave care.”
FNV is calling for a fund of 150 million euros to compensate people with long-term covid for loss of income and extra healthcare costs.
–
