Decent care, decent work with Václav Drozd and his guests

Our society is aging, and the care sector is among the fastest-growing branches of economy. The number of people professionally involved in the provision of care inevitably grows too. State institutions fail to cover the increased demand for care services, creating a gap in the market for private care providers. Their main objective is profit, which is achieved at the expense of employees’ working conditions as well as the quality of care. The World Day for Decent Work, which is celebrated on 7th October, calls for decent work, good wages, and collective negotiations that include all care professionals. We are inviting care providers, nurses, and other workers to join the discussion about the caring class, and share their experiences with work, unionizing, and defending their rights.

Václav Drozd has served as Editor of the online daily Alarm. He works as a union organiser at the Central European Organising Center, helping employees of multinational companies improve their working conditions. Anna Bacia worked as a therapist at a private retirement home in Konstancja, Warsaw, Poland. In May this year, she was dismissed from her job on account of her activity in the trade union, and she sued the multinational company Orpea for her right to return to work.

Valerija Karpova is a carer at a private retirement home in Prague, and a union member.

The discussion is part of the performance and discussion project Class Struggle? which looks at the complex social and class relations in today’s society in three subject-specific chapters.

The project was kindly supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Municipality of Prague and Prague 2.