Fixing the care crisis: Stopping the staff exodus, building resilient care systems

A staggering global survey of care workers reveals a deepening staffing crisis in the health and care sectors, with nearly 70 per cent of workers frequently understaffed and over a third (36.4%) saying they are always working short-handed. Released on the fifth anniversary of the W.H.O.’s COVID-19 pandemic declaration, the UNI Global Union report—based on responses from 11,233 workers across 63 countries—exposes a care system still in freefall. Despite being hailed as heroes, care workers face chronic understaffing, poverty wages, and surging workplace violence, driving many out of the profession and leaving patients at risk. Workers without union protections are affected by this trend even more intensely. The same failures that cost tens of thousands of lives during the pandemic remain dangerously ignored.