Investing in care: ILO highlights the future of the care sector at European Parliament event

BRUSSELS (ILO News) - The first Care Workers’ Parliament took place at the European Parliament, bringing together Members of the European Parliament, care workers, and European Commission officials to discuss the urgent need to strengthen Europe’s care systems. The event, organized by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), placed care workers’ voices at the centre of policymaking.

The powerful testimonies shared by care workers from across Europe underscored the human dimension behind every policy, statistic, and service – people, mostly women, who care for others every single day, often at great personal cost. Their stories revealed the systemic undervaluation of care work and the urgent need for stronger support for care workers, the right to collective bargaining, better working conditions, and greater recognition.

Carlien van Empel, Director of the ILO Office for the EU and the Benelux countries, participated in a panel discussion on the future of the care sector. Several MEPs expressed strong solidarity with care workers, acknowledging their vital contribution and the need for fair pay, safe staffing levels, and better working conditions.

They also drew attention to the draft initiative: “An EU health workforce crisis plan: sustainability of healthcare systems and employment and working conditions in the healthcare sector” and called for its swift adoption and implementation to address workforce shortages and improve conditions across Europe’s health and care sectors.

Van Empel described the care economy as the “invisible infrastructure” underpinning every other sector, from education and health to business and innovation. She highlighted the ILO Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy, adopted in 2024, which provides a global roadmap for reform. At its core lies the 5R Framework— to Recognize, Reduce, and Redistribute unpaid care, and Reward and Represent care workers—a practical and structured approach to achieving decent care work for all.

Van Empel noted that while care sustains life and livelihoods, it remains undervalued and under protected. Millions of European paid care workers, particularly domestic and migrant workers, still face low pay, precarious contracts and lack access to social protection, while unpaid careers (overwhelmingly women) carry a disproportionate share of care responsibilities.

The event highlighted the urgency of investing in care as a matter of both social justice and economic resilience. With Europe’s workforce ageing and labour shortages looming, Van Empel argued that “care is not a cost – it is a catalyst for inclusive, resilient and sustainable development.”

The ILO reaffirmed its readiness to work with European institutions, Member States and social partners to turn commitments into concrete change.