The unanimous National Assembly voted Thursday evening in favor of an envelope of 150 million euros in 2021 and 200 million from 2022, to increase the salaries of home helpers, who work with the elderly or disabled.
Read also: Home employment: the state under pressure to extend aid
A government amendment to this effect to the Social Security budget project was approved by 128 votes.
"
Yes, we are going to move forward with determination to upgrade the jobs and salaries
" of home helpers, launched the Minister for Autonomy Brigitte Bourguignon, who is due to present in 2021 a reform of assistance to vulnerable elderly people.
With this budget support, “
our priority will be to imperatively reduce low wages,
” added the Minister.
Home helpers are currently "
working poor
" and the profession, carried out most of the time by women, is "
undervalued, under-recognized
", underlined the Minister of Solidarity Olivier Véran.
"A small step" greeted by the left and the right
Left and right greeted this "
small step
".
The rebellious François Ruffin successfully defended an amendment to include the objective of "
dignity
" of these home help professionals, via this envelope.
The mechanism proposed by the State is a "
co-financing with the departmental councils
", competent in matters of home help: the envelope released by the government must finance half of this revaluation, at the expense of the departments which would agree to enter into this process of financing the other half.
A salary increase of 15% is targeted.
This device should come into force next April, "
It's a collective victory
", welcomed Agnès Firmin Le Bodo (Acting together), recalling that "
during the
health
crisis
", these employees "avoided many hospitalizations" elderly or disabled.
And “
we will still need them in the coming weeks
” with the second wave of Covid-19.
Read also: Deconfinement: home helpers reject their job description
According to the same state-department method, an exceptional “Covid bonus” of 1,000 euros per employee was paid to a large number of home helpers, under a device announced in August by Emmanuel Macron.
Out of 101 departments, 83 accepted its payment.
