Eight o'clock in the morning. Somaeh Metzger knocks on Mrs. Pennig-Chaussy's door and enters. "Good morning, how are you?" says the nurse. "Gudde Moien," she replies. Marie Josée Pennig-Chaussy is 94 years old and has been living in the "Op Lamp" nursing home in Wasserbillig, Luxembourg for six years. Somaeh Metzger is 50 years younger. The usual care procedure begins.
Somaeh Metzger dresses Ms. Pennig-Chaussy, helps her out of bed, puts her in a wheelchair and takes her to the bathroom. After ten minutes they return to the room. Mrs. Pennig-Chaussy takes care of putting on the lipstick, even as the caretaker helps her by holding her trembling hand. They discuss the old lady's previous theater career - sometimes in German, sometimes in the Luxembourgish language, with lots of French phrases.
Much better than in Germany
Almost 20 years ago, Somaeh Metzger decided to quit her job at a nursing home in Germany and moved to neighboring Luxembourg. She learned the Luxembourgish language in a course organized by her employer. From her home in Trier, Germany, where she lives with her family, to her workplace are only 13 kilometers. "I haven't regretted my decision for a second," says Metzger.
There are many such people who go to work in Luxembourg from Germany. According to the National Institute of Statistics, over 52,000 Germans work there - 30 percent more than a decade ago. The vast majority of them still live in Germany and go to work in Luxembourg. In the health and social care sector alone, 6,300 Germans are registered, among them at least 4,000 carers like Somaeh Metzger.
This can also be seen in her workplace: over 80 percent of the 147 employees at the "Op Lamp" nursing home are German who care for the 81 residents of the nursing home. "We are not particularly looking for caregivers from Germany," says director Mireille Wirtz-Lenertz. But word spread in the border region that working conditions in Luxembourg are much better than in Germany. There are almost no overtime hours, employees are respected, and the salary is almost twice as high as in Germany. "I earn more in Luxembourg working 60% of the time than in Germany when I was working full time," says Metzger.
There are also concerns in Luxembourg
Luxembourg, with a population of 670,000, has recently increased again the salaries of employees in the care of the elderly and the sick. With ten years of service, a carer in a nursing home earns around €65,000 a year - plus bonuses. While a nurse can receive around 100,000 euros.
Luxembourg is apparently ready to pay caregivers even better because the population there is also aging. According to the assessment of the association of caregivers Copas, in the next five years it will be necessary to fill 4,000 additional jobs in the care sector: caregivers, nurses, physiotherapists and kitchen assistants. But in Luxembourg, just over 100 carers complete their training each year. Already about 50 percent of nurses come from neighboring countries. Wirtz-Lenertz fears that it will become more difficult to find caregivers from Germany in the coming years. "Wages are rising there as well," she says. But she is sure of better working conditions, lower taxes and of course better pensions in Luxembourg.
The situation in Germany
At the same time, it is a disaster for nursing homes and hospitals on the German side of the border. From the Barmherzige Brüder hospital in Trier alone, 25 to 30 nurses leave for Luxembourg every year, says Jörg Mogendorf, director of the hospital's nursing department, "The trend is growing," he explains. Even the Chamber of Care Workers of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate testifies that the situation "has not improved at all. On the contrary: it has worsened". President Markus Mai thinks that little can be done against the excellent wages in the neighboring countries: "The only thing that can be done is the general increase in the number of employees in the affected regions. But our Chamber has little influence or opportunity to change the situation ."
I'm not coming back!
Somaeh Metzger will not return to Germany: "In Germany I was responsible for nine or ten elderly people in one shift, I often worked 15 days without a break. In Luxembourg, I have five people to take care of". She does not believe that things will change. In Luxembourg, the employer respects her schedule. Somaeh Metzger is extremely satisfied: "I can balance my work and private life without difficulty." There are more and more people who think like Metzger and leave , not only in the care sector. /DW (A2 Televizion)
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