“Shameful to dump everything on families” [notiziediprato.it]

More expensive fees in the RSA of Prato with increases of between 6 and 10 euros per day entirely passed on to families. A further sting that adds up to all the rest of the price increases and which pushes the unions to sound the alarm: “The unilateral decision taken by the managers is unacceptable – the words of the CGIL, CISL and UIL confederates and pensioners – they put their hands on the pockets of families by announcing increases rather than affecting the substantial profitability that each RSA achieves at the end of the year and which stands at 7 percent of turnover”. There is not only some for the managers, but also for the Region which – in the words of the union – leaves the elderly and families alone. We are ready to promote a collection of signatures to ask for two things: the review of the regional legislation that regulates the sector and which, as it is now, generates distortions that fall on the usual ones, the placing of the issue increases in a public, clear and transparent framework that gives way of opening a serious and constructive debate between the parties”.
The question of the increase in tuition fees has been anticipated in recent weeks by Prato news (read) and, having done the math, it will weigh something like 300 euros on each elderly person. The fee is made up of two shares: 54 euros the daily health fee paid by the Region, as well as the social fee which is partly covered by the Municipality and partly by the family on the basis of income, with an average that on a monthly basis fluctuates between one thousand and 1,500 euros and which will now rise to 1,300-1,800 euros”.
“It is a shameful situation – says the general secretary of the CGIL of Prato, Lorenzo Pancini – a situation that highlights the cynical attitude of the managers and the silence of the regional institutions: here it is thought to recover the money by removing it from the wallet of the weakest link, workers and pensioners who have already had to endure the reduction in purchasing power due to inflation still at 10 percent, not to mention the ever-increasing interest rates with increasing difficulty in honoring mortgage payments ”.
The complaint by the CGIL, CISL and UIL also underlines the evident contradiction of the actors in the field: “On the one hand, the Region which, in the matter of expenditure for non-self-sufficiency, says it does not have the necessary resources to proceed with an update of the tariffs – he explains the Cisl Prato-Florence confederal secretary, Marco Bucci – on the other hand, the RSA who unilaterally and all together decide to adjust upwards the quota that affects household budgets”. An issue that concerns hundreds of families: “Home assistance is certainly preferable – says the confederal secretary of Uil Prato, Rodolfo Zanieri – but it is a matter of a few hours which are often not enough and force the elderly’s family members to turn to residential structures . An ordeal: to date the waiting list has about fifty people. And not to mention that it takes at least 6 months to see the co-payment recognised, and in those 6 months it is the family that has to take full responsibility for the expense, which on average is close to 3,500 euros”.
The union points the finger at the managers of the RSA who – they say – “have lost sight of a fact: the right to assistance is constitutionally guaranteed and what should be a service has turned into a business“. Not only that: “Evidently the system pays off – still CGIL, CISL and UIL – otherwise the continuous requests for authorization for the opening of new RSAs cannot be explained. A system that has its own reason in the area: just think that 22 percent of the population is over 65 with 10 percent of the elderly suffering from serious chronic diseases. In addition, the percentage of people discharged from hospital and referred to the RSA has risen from 4 to 35 percent in the space of a few years”.
The method of the increase is also under accusation: not only a unilateral decision, but also an “indiscriminate” one that weighs equally on rich families and poor families. “In this way – he underlines – a system is created that is accessible only for those with more disposable income, increasing the risk of undeclared work because the family that will not be able to bear the expense will try to remedy the problem with the use of carers not in order”. And speaking of work: “It is worth highlighting – conclude the CGIL, CISL and UIL – that many RSAs apply contracts to workers not signed by the main trade union organizations, contracts that provide for very low wages for delicate and tiring tasks”.

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