LMP proposes budget amendment to ensure ‘fair funding’ for elderly care

The opposition LMP party will submit amendment proposals to the 2021 draft budget to ensure that elderly care receives the “necessary attention”, lawmaker Péter Ungár said in parliament on Thursday.

The green party proposes that employees of the social and health-care sectors be paid according to the same pay scale, and social workers also receive the 500,000 forint (EUR 1,500) bonus promised to health-care workers at the beginning of the state of emergency, Ungár said.

Read alsoHungarian population keeps ageing drastically

He also called for equal state funding for state- and church-run elderly care homes. The allowance for parents caring for disabled children at home should be raised to equal the minimum wage, he said.

Ungár insisted that the government considered caring for elderly, incapacitated family members a “family matter”.

Read alsoCoronavirus in Hungary – Chief Medical Officer: Elderly care homes on path to recovery

He said that the capacity of elderly care homes had not been increased in the past eight years. Waiting times can reach 2-3 years and low wages result in a workforce shortage of 10,000-15,000 people in the sector. The 2021 budget would not change that, he said.