Coronavirus: private caregivers fear being "forgotten" about the Covid-19 bonus

All of her concern stems from a question: "Are we really the forgotten ones of the system?" Pauline, a nurse in the intensive care unit in a private Parisian clinic, demands "answers".

Despite several weeks spent dealing with critical cases related to the coronavirus pandemic, the young woman is not currently entitled to the famous "caregiver bonus", supposed to compensate for the extraordinary workload absorbed by the system health at the height of the crisis.

A decree published in the Official Journal in mid-May reserves these bonuses of 500 to 1,500 euros, depending on the geographic area concerned, to "agents of public health establishments", but also to "certain civil and military agents of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the 'National Institution for the Disabled'.

Online petition

“We have seen our service triple its capacity to receive serious patients, indignant Pauline. We had to train ourselves, but also to train nurses and nursing students who had never undergone resuscitation […]. We were right in the middle of this war. So why not give this bonus to all the soldiers who were in the foreground? "

A petition published on the Change site also claims the end of this unequal treatment. The caregivers in the private sector "practiced the same prices as public hospitals […], they also lacked protective equipment, they were also affected by the virus while practicing their profession", underlines the text which brings together, two weeks after putting it online, nearly 30,000 signatures.

"We don't understand anything"

Contacted repeatedly on Thursday, the ministry was unable to act. In mid-May, he also stated that "all of the professionals in the very many private establishments involved" would indeed receive a premium. A device then had to be stopped "quickly".

VIDEO. When Macron announced a bonus and "career upgrades" for caregivers

“We understand absolutely nothing, annoys Albert Papadacci, CGT delegate of the Korian group. Between the ministerial announcements and the reality on the ground, we are in total artistic blur. "

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In all likelihood, a decree specific to private carers should soon see the light of day. “There are rumors. But who exactly will be affected, and at what height? Asks the unionist. Brandishing the possibility that some, even within a premium for private establishments, end up being put on the side.