Raymond Taube: “Social workers really carry society”
Where does the lack of recognition of social workers come from?
“Many people think that we are world champions of social spending, of welfare. That social work is the checkbook, and nothing else. But the reality is that outside of extreme situations, such as in psychiatry or geriatrics, the goal of social support is precisely to regain or maintain maximum autonomy. Not encourage addiction! »
Do you denounce the lack of “respect” they suffer from?
“Yes, these workers should be better considered, respected. In Germany, in the United States for example, the “social worker” is highly respected. And it also shows in the salary. We all applauded the caregivers during the first confinement. But social workers carry this misery, these difficulties experienced by so many people. They deserve just as much to be rewarded, not only in terms of salary, but of civic recognition.
Why do you think they are so poorly paid?
First, it is a profession overwhelmingly, almost exclusively female: most social workers are workers, and this contributes to the low salaries, as is often the case. These are also professions still often perceived as “shameful”, associated with poverty and difficulties. But the rich can also have problems: education with children, disability, organization at work, divorce, debt, illness. Anyone can be a victim, and need social support.
Beyond the salary, there are also the working conditions…
Yes, we combine very low wages with difficult working conditions, thankless, repetitive tasks, staggered hours, etc. We are constantly confronted with people’s problems, it is the very nature of these professions. It is a human, intimate and urgent job.
What does the book “Les Fossoyeurs”, which revealed the scandal of certain nursing homes, inspire in you?
What does this book say? That old age is a business, and that as such private nursing homes give as little as possible to “customers” in order to maintain a maximum margin. But beyond that, in the private sector as in the public sector, it is the lack of personnel that poses a problem: the employees do not have the time to do their job well. Therefore, there is a kind of institutional mistreatment, caused by the lack of personnel in the first place. It is mistreatment that first strikes the staff themselves, including medico-social workers, and indirectly the users. And that is a problem of means, it is a political problem.
Too few resources and yet… record public spending?
The problem is above all the bureaucratic burden: we ask for reports from people who are in a hurry, who are faced with the problems of disabled people, who have to take care of unaccompanied minors… And we ask them for reports, because that “the administration must know”. Are there too many civil servants in France? I looked: this is not the case compared to very many countries, including Norway, Sweden, but also Canada. It’s mostly that they’re not in the right place. There are too many in the offices, and not enough in front of the users, in the field.
Do you think these social workers are the real “first in line”?
It’s very simple: if they went on strike, stopped working, even for a month, it would be tragic. The consequences would be catastrophic. But these are invisible professions, we never think of them until we need them. While they really carry society, they bear the problems of millions of people constantly, all of them! Money, family, violence, sexism, inequalities… Social workers are constantly faced with inextricable situations. I don’t even dare to imagine what would happen if they stopped, even for a few days…
However, the government does not seem ready to listen to them…
In France, we love chocolate medals: we haven’t changed the salary, but we have upgraded the diplomas. Which is good, already, but at the end of the month it doesn’t change anything…
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