A lawmaker of opposition LMP on Monday called on the government to raise the wages of employees working in elderly care. Péter Ungár cited data of a survey covering 25 European countries, which showed that Hungary spends 0.4% of its GDP on care for elderly citizens, far below the average 1.1%.
Meanwhile, labour shortage in the sector has been growing since 2010, and the number of places in state-funded facilities have continued to decline since 2013, Ungár told a press conference. Seventy-five percent of employees working in elderly care work for wages at the minimum wage or less, he said, adding that they had also been excluded from the one-off wage compensation paid to health-care employees during the coronavirus pandemic. Those caring for an elderly family member at home receive a monthly payment between 38,000 (EUR 106) forints and 58,000 (EUR 161) forints, woefully insufficient compensation for lost wages, Ungár said.
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