An ageing society is a growing problem within the European Union. In most cases, the task of caring for the elderly is performed by women. The problem has spread to Western Europe as well, but there, people can afford to get help from outside of the family. The result is an influx of workers from the East to the West, and it affects women the most.
Workflow from East to West
According to a survey, a third of Hungarians know a woman who works abroad as a nurse or caregiver, writes telex.hu. The flow of workers from East to West is affecting more and more people. As society ages in most European countries, the elderly make up an increasing proportion of the population.
The situation in Hungary is special, as many caregivers come from the East, but many also go to the West from Hungary.
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They come to Hungary from the East mostly from Romania, while from Hungary, Austria and Germany are the most popular destinations. The lack of language skills or former experience is not a problem. They have similar positions as professional caregivers or nurses. So, they monitor the condition of the elderly and are also responsible for administering medications and helping the elderly to wash.
In the case of an inpatient, it is also important to change diapers and to move and keep the elderly clean to avoid illnesses. Despite the fact that it is hard physical work, many nurses are old and retired themselves, writes ujegyenloseg.hu.
Personal stories from Hungary and Romania
Telex.hu visited many women in both Hungary and Romania. Many Transylvanian women working in Hungary started to work due to low pensions, while others chose this career for the sake of preserving tradition. After all, it has always been a habit to care for the elderly, why not get paid for it.
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Hard physical work is not a problem either. A Transylvanian woman said she only treats outpatients because of her spinal cord injury.
“As long as my health lasts, I’ll go and help,”
she said. It is not only physically but also mentally demanding work. “He was perfectly normal during the day. He talked about laws and talked to doctors. But at night, they seemed to have changed completely. He did things I could not take anymore,” says another caregiver.
It’s simple economics. My late mother (Hungarian) in London, UK had a Hungarian Caregivers (normally resident in Hungary) because they were recommended by a Hungarian friend. The Caregivers were in there 60’s and knew very well the going rate for their services – 600 GBP (approximately 264,000 HUF) a week – which they always demanded in cash and without any exposure to the tax system. These Caregivers usually stayed for a year or so but always wanted a 2 week (unpaid) holiday but we were expected to pay the airfares to and from Budapest and London. The last one also demanded severance pay when my mother died! She did not get it and a flight was arranged for the day after back to Budapest (she actually lives near Miskolc).
Not a word about “economic immigrants” or “economic emigrants”. Or is that a Christian Heritage / EU entitlement thing?