On Wednesday, petitioners brought their list of demands for care workers to the Chamber of Deputies, calling for further development opportunities and attributions adjusted to post-pandemic requirements.

Last year, the petition launched by young care worker Bryan Jaeger gathered just over 4,500 signatures, meeting the debate threshold.

The petition's message was clear: Care workers, or nursing assistants, are not just tasked with washing patients or helping them go to the toilet. Adèle Fiorucci-Lang, who has been a care worker for 38 years, says people have been calling for the profession to be valued more as long as she has been in the job. But nothing has changed. One point of criticism is the differentiation between carers and nurses, in some institutions highlighted by different uniforms for staff. There are also two different labour conventions for the care and the hospital sector, which poses an issue, according to the petitioner.

Brothers Bryan and Kim Jeager have not been working as carers for long, but say the profession was rarely discussed while they were at school. "If I hadn't done volunteer work, I probably wouldn't have encountered the job," Kim says. In Luxembourg, young people are made to choose the profession of care worker or nursing assistant at the age of 15, which the petitioners say is too young. And in general, the profession needs to have improved training. But above all, the petition calls for more awareness outside the profession, to avoid developing a false image of carers and care workers.

Problems highlighted by the pandemic

During the pandemic, care workers say they felt as though they were made to take on tasks outside of their remit, but were made to feel as though they were not good enough to continue those tasks after the crisis. In the Chamber of Deputies, the petitioners said they felt as though there was a lack of respect for the profession. A further requirement, in addition to improved training opportunities, is that the role's attributions should be adapted to include the tasks performed during the pandemic.

Minister of Health Martine Deprez expressed an openness to meeting this demand and said it would be subjected to working group analysis.

The petitioners also campaigned for adjustments to the distinction between care worker and nurse, calling for opportunities for carers to further their education. The profession is said to be a "dead end" as it currently stands, but if pathways into nursing were made available, it could attract more people to the job without having to start from scratch if they wanted to change roles.

Post-debate, the petitioners expressed optimism. "For today, we are happy," Bryan Jeager said. The training components are set to be discussed by the education committee.

Committee president Francine Closener said that education and higher education would also be brought into the fold, alongside the health and petition committees, to cover all aspects of improving training and raising awareness.