Alt Urgell Workers Celebrate County Council's Takeover of Home Care from Private Firms

Workers at the Home Care Service (SAD) in Alt Urgell have welcomed the county council's decision to bring the service under direct public management, describing it as a unique achievement in Catalonia.

The Consell Comarcal de l'Alt Urgell formalised the handover to the public company Iausa during an extraordinary plenary session on Thursday, ending years of private outsourcing that workers had long opposed. Staff, speaking through the SAD union, called the process "tough" but worthwhile, hailing it as a "national and statewide reference for trade union and social victory."

They hope the move sets a precedent for other municipalities to reclaim control of public services from profit-driven private firms, limiting such entities to private contracts only. The workers offered their active collaboration to refine direct management, urging officials to draw on their "extensive and expert" on-the-ground knowledge to enhance care quality and avoid past mistakes.

The conflict began in 2019 when the service shifted to private hands. The initial contract went to Suport Assistencial, a firm hit with multiple labour inspectorate fines, worker complaints, and union lawsuits. It still owes staff tens of thousands of euros, according to the union.

This marked a turning point, prompting workers to organise and report irregularities to authorities. Union efforts secured the reinstatement of dismissed employees and exposed how private management degraded service quality. A Catalan High Court of Justice ruling later found fundamental rights violations in the service's employment practices.

In 2022, the council switched to SUMAR, subrogating the workers, but issues persisted in the external model. Last year, it rejected a further handover to the Consorci de Salut i Social, opting instead for in-house control via Iausa.

The union praised the staff's sustained campaign since the first tender, while noting that workers and users had suffered from prolonged administrative failings.