New publication: Attractive nursing professions through collective bargaining autonomy

What can be done about the nursing crisis? A key antidote is to improve working conditions. This requires strong employee interest groups and collective bargaining autonomy that is capable of taking action. Neither of these exist nationwide! But where does the organization of employees stand and where do we go from here? This is what the authors Wolfgang Schroeder and Saara Inkinen dealt with in the study on collective self-organization in geriatric care, which has now been published as a book.

The follow-up study, which follows on from our 2015 study, provides insights into labor relations in geriatric care, analyzes problems and challenges and proposes solutions and courses of action. It is based on surveys of care workers and expert interviews with relevant stakeholders.

In detail:

• Elderly care workers are rarely organized and their ability to assert their interests is weak.
• There is therefore a "vicious circle of defective representation of interests" in geriatric care.
• Employers largely refuse to accept collective bargaining solutions.
• The state has therefore intervened cautiously and exerted pressure on employers in particular. This has led to initial improvements.
• However, there is a lack of political will and ability to continue along this path and to improve working conditions more actively.
• The situation in the care sector will only improve with more staff and better working conditions. This requires strong representation of interests.
• If the collective bargaining partners are unwilling or unable to do this, it will probably require further and stronger state intervention.

Curious? Click here to go directly to the publication https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-658-47773-8