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The UNICARE Global Steering Committee, meeting at the Head Office of UNI Global Union in Nyon, Switzerland, discussed the burgeoning care crisis across the world and the need for an integrated response driven by the workers and the unions who represent them.

President of the UNICARE sector, Carlos West Ocampo said, “Unions should be part of the process of massive transformation in this sector.  We can be part of the solution to downward pressure on conditions and the need for millions of new workers in this sector. ". 

(See video message (Spanish) from Carlos West Ocampo where he explains the challenges and goals of the home healthcare sector)

UNI Global Union’s Deputy General Secretary, Christy Hoffman said the sector was fortunate to have the leadership of Carlos West Ocampo and she welcomed the new sector head, Adrian Durtschi, who was formerly with UNI’s Swiss affiliate UNIA.

Hoffman said, “The time is right for a focus on growth in the health care, child care and aged care industries.  These jobs are here to stay in our communities.  And as countries demand more care there will be increasing pressures to keep the costs down, as we’ve seen with the waves of austerity in recent years.  These cost cutting measures will come off of the backs of workers unless unions are there.  We’ve got to face the challenge of “for profit” care and the consequences that this model holds for clients, patients and caregivers alike.  UNI CARE has an ambitious programme which will take us into the future.”

Durtschi said, “We are seeing successful organising work in the care sector around the world, including Colombia, Chile, Nepal, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and Australia.

In a video interview (Spanish) Luz Fany Zambrano, President of the Colombian healthcare workers union SINTRASALUDCOL explained how they had successfully organised in Colombia despite opposition: Zambrano personally faced death threats and last year received the UN I Breaking Through Award for organising and her courage.

Dr Tana Wuliji, stressed that the healthcare workforce needs will continue to grow steadily in the future, and that care workers are among the least likely to be replaced by digital technologies.

Dr Wuliji recently visited Argentina and met with the President of UNICARE, Carlos West Ocampo, and spoke to UNI about the impact of their meeting on her and the subsequent interest from the WHO: see video (English).

David Rolf, Chair SEIU Home Care Council, and author of “The Fight for $15, The Right Wage for a Working America”, addressed the UNICARE meeting and spoke of the ‘silver tsunami’ sweeping across the United States and the challenge of finding a million new carers by 2022. Rolf said there was the another challenge in ensuring these were decent jobs, drawing attention to successes such as the Los Angeles Home Care Campaign which led to a collective agreement after a more than a decade of struggle. In a period of less than 20 years, SEIU organized 600,000 homecare workers.  Yet, this number still represents only a small overall percentage of the homecare industry in the US.  In order to keep pace with the growth in the sector, unions will need to innovate, use new technologies and be actively involved in professionalizing the workforce. 

See David Rolf’s video (English) here

The two-day global meeting of the UNICARE sector ended with a commitment from all those involved to continue gathering momentum, to Breaking Through and Making it Happen.