Across Europe, care work is under strain. Staff shortages, low pay and heavy workloads are common, and they affect both the people who provide care and those who receive it. Social economy organisations employ a large share of care workers and deliver many care services, which gives them a direct stake in how these conditions can improve.
The fourth DICES webinar puts this issue at the centre. It starts with the project’s own research: Anwesha Mukherjee of University College Cork will present the EU-wide survey on working conditions in care developed within DICES, explaining what it aims to find out and how care workers and organisations can contribute to it.
A panel will then test the survey’s questions against real experience. Marina Monaco of ETUC will bring the view of European trade unions and workers’ representatives. Claudia Petrescu of the Centre for Nonprofit Legislation will describe the situation of social economy organisations in Romania, and Dónall Geoghegan of The Wheel will speak about the Irish community and voluntary sector. Together they will look at the challenges these organisations face as employers, the practices that are making a difference, and the policies that could help.
Anne Guisset of KU Leuven, coordinator of DICES, will open the session, and Gianluca Pastorelli, Executive President of Diesis Network, will moderate the discussion.
There will be time for questions. The webinar is open to everyone, and is particularly relevant for social economy organisations, care practitioners, workers’ representatives, researchers and policymakers.