It has been eight days since a family carer from the town of Lourches, in the North, started a hunger strike. With this punch action, she wants to denounce too low a salary in this profession.
Thérèse Bauwens claims to work “24 hours a day, 365 days a year” and to be paid “between 2.5 and 3 hours of minimum wage per day and per person welcomed”. Faced with this observation, this woman from the North began a hunger strike. Supported by her colleagues, she has been drinking “only coffee” since February 5 to demand “compensation for 6 hours a day”, “standardization of remuneration” and “increased maintenance costs”.
This welcoming family takes care of two elderly people and a person with a disability. Each month, she receives 556 euros in maintenance costs per person welcomed, she explained to AFP.
This money is used to “buy meat, hygiene products, maintenance, for electricity, heating, water, transport, etc.” Thérèse Bauwens assures not to get out of it. “What will it take for the government to address foster families?”
8,789 family carers in France
According to the Institute for training, research and evaluation of medico-social practices, France has 8,789 family caregivers for 13,810 people received.
You should know that each host family can only accommodate up to three people in their home. For this, it must have a room of at least 9m2 per person which must also be able to freely access the common areas (kitchen, living room, WC, bathroom, etc.).