Bavarian police officers are complaining because their corona infection is not recognized as an accident at work.
Now they are getting tailwind from other aid organizations.
They are now turning to the Interior Ministry with an open letter.
Munich
- When he read the message, he was "shocked", says Christian Boenisch, managing director of the Munich / Upper Bavaria regional association of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ABS).
The report was about police officers who oppose a decision from the State Office for Finance that their corona infection is not recognized as an accident at work.
Several officials therefore want to go to court.
The widow of a police officer who died with the virus and who worked at Munich Airport is also taking action against the decision not to classify the infection as a work-related accident.
“It cannot be that a widow has to achieve something that concerns us all individually,” says Boenisch annoyed.
"That is the absolutely wrong sign." That is why he wrote an open letter to Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU).
"It must not be that the consequences of a corona infection are individualized," he demands in it.
Anyone who works in a profession of general interest should not be left alone.
"Therefore we show solidarity with the demand of the German police union for recognition of the corona infection in the professions of general interest as an accident at work", it says in the letter.
A comparable regulation is also needed for employees in welfare associations such as nurses or paramedics.
“The employees work for months under difficult conditions,” says Boenisch.
"You need solidarity and security."
Difficult burden of proof for the employee
This is also what the Maltese relief service demands.
"We see it in a similar way to our colleagues," says spokesman Wilhelm Horlemann.
“There is a lot of uncertainty.
As far as the long-term consequences are concerned, it is better if the infection is rated as an accident at work. ”The decision would ultimately be made by the employer's liability insurance association.
But the problem is: The burden of proof lies with the employee.
"With a corona infection, it is of course difficult to prove exactly where you got infected," says Sohrab Taheri-Sohi, press spokesman for the Bavarian Red Cross.
An example: An outpatient nurse treats a patient who tests positive for the virus in retrospect and later falls ill herself. “Then it is obvious that she was infected while on duty,” he explains.
In such a case, he is hoping for a concession from the Bavarian Municipal Accident Insurance (KUVB). "We hope and assume that the KUVB will respond accommodatingly," says Taheri-Sohi.
Intensive contact with an infected person must be proven
According to the KUVB, a Covid 19 disease is classified as an occupational disease if “the sick person worked in the health service, welfare service or in a laboratory or was at a similar risk of infection through another activity”.
If infected outside of these areas, the disease could be classified as an occupational accident.
The prerequisite: "The infection must be traced back to a person who can be proven to have been infected with the virus," says spokesman Eugen Maier.
There must have been intensive contact with this person.
In individual cases, a larger number of infected people in a company could be sufficient evidence.
The Free State is responsible for infected officials such as the police.
The interior ministry stated that it had "expressly asked the responsible ministry of finance to re-examine the attitude towards the recognition of infections with Sars-CoV-2 as work-related accidents." However, it is still unclear when the administrative court will deal with the issue.