Failed Establishment of State Care Chamber in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg’s planned state care chamber has ultimately failed. Since May of last year, the Ministry of Social Affairs had been trying to convince caregivers in the state to support it.
There will be no state care chamber in Baden-Württemberg. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Social Affairs on Monday. According to the Minister of Social Affairs in Baden-Württemberg, Manfred Lucha (Green Party), the necessary quorum for the establishment of the care chamber was missed by over 3,000 votes.
The state parliament had cleared the way for a care chamber last May. According to the plans of the Green-Black state government, the chamber was supposed to represent the interests of caregivers and make the profession more attractive. Similar professional chambers already exist for doctors, pharmacists, and craftsmen.
The close vote raised disagreements at the ministry. Around 120,000 nursing professionals in the state were contacted for the establishment of the chamber. At least 60% of them had to agree to the establishment of a care chamber. This was the case if caregivers did not object to their registration, and thus to the ministry’s plans.
Initially, the founding committee responsible for establishing the chamber announced that the legally required approval rate had been achieved. However, the ministry reviewed the numbers and concluded that only about 64,000 people had agreed, falling short by 3,400 votes. More than 53,000 caregivers had raised objections to the establishment of the chamber. The discrepancy in the vote count, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, was due to a different interpretation of objections that had to be declared invalid.
The founding committee of the state care chamber criticized the ministry’s interpretation of the results. The committee believed that the approval quorum of 60% had been reached. According to the committee, the ministry’s decision once again demonstrated that politicians lacked the will to involve the nursing profession in political processes.
Health Minister Lucha expressed regret over the failure of the care chamber. He acknowledged that the groups in favor and against the care chamber seemed to be almost equal in size based on the registration process results. Despite his personal desire for the establishment of the care chamber, he emphasized the need to accept the outcome and continue efforts to strengthen nursing.
According to Lucha, it had become apparent in February that the required quorum for the care chamber would not be met. However, the founding committee responsible for the process had initially believed that the quorum had been fulfilled.
The German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK) is also disappointed by the failure of the chamber. The extensive debates on the registration process for the vote had shifted the focus away from the actual purpose of a professional chamber and pushed the chamber’s goals into the background, explained Andrea Kiefer, the chairwoman of DBfK Southwest. The state care chamber would have given caregivers a „strong voice.“
The union ver.di in Baden-Württemberg criticized the voting process for the care chamber as „undemocratic.“ To oppose the care chamber, caregivers had to actively raise a justified objection, and abstentions were counted as yes votes. Nevertheless, everything proceeded democratically in the end, thanks to Minister Lucha.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the state parliament called the outcome a failure „predicted in advance.“ The party accused Minister Lucha of deliberately ignoring the voices of works councils, employee representatives, and unions on the topic of the care chamber. The Green Party in the state parliament also regretted the failure of the chamber but expressed their commitment to continue caring for nursing in the state.
Tune in to SWR1 Radio News BW on Monday, June 10, 2024, at 10:00 AM for more on the planned state care chamber in BW.