Challenges and policy approaches in the long-term care sector: a multidimensional perspective

The European Labour Authority (ELA) presents a new study on long-term care (LTC) in Madrid at the conference Challenges and Policy Approaches in the Long-Term Care Sector: A Multidimensional Perspective. The conference is hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and brought together ELA's Executive Director Cosmin Boiangiu, the Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz Pérez, and Stefan Olsson, Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

The study highlights key occupational challenges in the fast-expanding long-term care sector, which is already facing significant labour shortages. Demand for care workers is growing rapidly as a result of demographic ageing, outpacing employment growth across the sector. Despite ongoing social, technological and institutional innovations, long-term care remains characterised by low pay, long and irregular working hours, and limited collective bargaining coverage. In addition, the physically and emotionally demanding nature of care work, combined with an ageing workforce, increases the risk of work-related accidents.

In the same event, the #EUFairCare campaign is launched. It targets mobile workers, employers and the self-employed in LTC across EU/EEA countries.