Posted Dec 18 2022 at 10:47
Members of the majority want to take on the problems posed by the aging of the population. They tabled a bill on Thursday aimed in particular at improving the situation of home help professionals.
“Nearly 80% of French people want to be able to live at home”, underlines the proposal “taking measures to build the society of aging well in France”. “We must amplify the measures in favor of a real residential shift”, continue its authors from the Renaissance, Horizons and Modem groups.
Old age professionals have been waiting for years for the government to commit and invest massively to meet the challenges of aging. During the previous five-year term, the executive certainly created a fifth branch of Social Security devoted to autonomy, but the promised “old age” law did not see the light of day.
“A first stone”
Developed with the executive, the text now on the table is “only a first stone”, by the very admission of its authors, including the Renaissance deputies, Monique Iborra and Annie Vidal. It “is not intended to replace a bill”.
“It is really a bill which is intended to be enriched both by parliamentary debates and by feedback from the National Council for Refoundation (CNR)”, says Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, in reference to the exercise of consultation of citizens conducted by the executive across the country, particularly on the theme of “ageing well”.
Pending the results of these discussions, the text of the majority already proposes to “remove a certain number of difficulties in the exercise of professions at home”, in particular with regard to travel. These can be very expensive for professionals with generally low salaries.
Business card
A proposal put forward is to allow the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA) “to financially support the departments” which contribute to supporting the mobility of professionals in the home.
Anxious to make the profession of home help more attractive, the deputies also wish to experiment for these professionals, the granting of a professional card in order to “better recognize their qualifications”. “This has been one of our requests for a long time,” says Catherine Lopez, the general manager of the FESP, which represents companies providing personal services.
The federation also sees favorably the fact that the deputies wish to “ensure convergent remuneration for home help employees”. Companies deplore the fact that they do not benefit from aid to improve their remuneration, while the State helps the departments to improve that of stakeholders in the associative sector.
On this subject of “equity of public support”, the proposal is content at this stage to request a report from the government. A report is also requested on the issue of social assistance for accommodation, offering support for accommodation costs for the elderly. The proposal also proposes to “strengthen the management of the prevention policy”, to promote “good treatment” or “inclusive housing”.