Subject: Strengthening Social Dialogue and Representation in the PHS Sector – Follow-up and Next Steps
From: "Pauline Wicquart - EFFE" <[email-masked]>
To: "Info - SOM" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Boisseuil Aude - EFFE HOMECARE" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:46:09 +0300

Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga.
Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada.

Dear Minister Joller,

I am writing to you on behalf of the European Federation for Family
Employment & Home Care (EFFE), one of the main stakeholders in the
Personal and Household Services (PHS) sector at EU level, a sector that
represents nearly 10 million workers across the Union and millions of
families and individuals in the need of domestic & home care services.

We had the privilege of exchanging with your predecessor Minister Riisalo
in the context of the preparation of our event “10 years of commitment and
advocacy: What does the future hold for the PHS sector in Europe for
2030?” organised on the 14th of November 2023 in Brussels. This Congress
marked EFFE’s 10th anniversary and brought together key European
stakeholders for both retrospective and forward-looking discussions.

Europe is undergoing profound demographic shifts, with growing care needs
and acute labour shortages in essential sectors. As the Quality Jobs
Roadmap announced by the European Commission rightly highlights, long-term
care and childcare are essential enablers for quality employment, gender
equality, and social resilience.

Among all care sectors, domestic and home care face some of the most
severe and persistent structural challenges. With over 10 million
workers—predominantly women, and often migrants above fifty years old—the
PHS sector plays a central role in supporting older persons, people with
disabilities, children, and families. Yet, it remains largely invisible in
policy frameworks, with too many workers and employers left outside formal
systems and without adequate access to decent working conditions, rights,
and protections.

One of the main barriers is the prevalence of undeclared work, which
undermines workers’ rights, distorts the labour market, and weakens social
protection systems. Tackling informality, professionalising the workforce,
and strengthening employer representation are key to unlocking the
sector’s full potential.

In this context, the EU-level social partners for the PHS sector—EFFAT,
EFFE, EFSI, and UNI Europa—have jointly launched the EU co-funded “PHS
Dialogue” project, an initiative aimed at establishing structured European
social dialogue and strengthening national collective bargaining in the
sector.

As part of this project, EFFE and EFSI have developed the Toolkit:
Employer’s Organisation Capacity Building in the PHS Sector. This
practical resource is designed to address a critical gap: the lack of
structured employer representation and bargaining capacity in a sector
that is increasingly essential for ageing societies, rising care needs,
and the fight against undeclared work.

The Toolkit includes:

*       A detailed analysis of capacity-building challenges in the sector;

*       Tailored recommendations for PHS employer organisations;

*       Practical tools and examples to support governance, advocacy,
membership development, legal advice for user-employers, and
anti-informality measures (e.g. contract generators, cost simulators).

It aligns with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU’s Social
Dialogue Strategy, the European Care Strategy, and the Council
Recommendation on Long-Term Care, and can be directly applied in national
and local contexts.

We believe this Toolkit could serve as the foundation for a joint
initiative with your Ministry, aimed at building representative employer
organisations in the PHS sector; strengthening social dialogue and
collective bargaining; improving the attractiveness of the sector; and
enhancing protection for both workers and the families who employ them.

We would be delighted to resume the fruitful exchanges we had with your
Ministry and explore concrete avenues for collaboration in this regard.

Thank you for your attention to this initiative, which we believe is vital
for building a more inclusive, resilient, and socially cohesive Europe.

Sincerely Yours,

Aude Boisseuil

General Delegate

<https://cloud.letsignit.com/collect/bc/67235fe2b2e84235d2614720?p=EM6Mz2K
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Pauline WICQUART

Policy Officer

___

Rue du Trône 98
1050 Bruxelles
 <mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]

<https://cloud.letsignit.com/collect/bc/67235fe2b2e84235d2614720?p=EM6Mz2K
cUi2n9KvK4yGHkSHa4KHjOghJSd5uCeViNO0JkuLszREamqd5G5pCMtfk3qCd2Z4Po4xPqTcgr
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www.effe-homecare.eu