Oleksandra Dzhevegeska, 50 years old, of Ukrainian nationality, arrived in Italy in 2010 and belongs to badanti, These carers who support the elderly of an ageing country. The number of these assistants, the vast majority of whom are women, is estimated at 1.07 million in 2022. Essential cogs of transalpine society, immigrants in almost 70% of cases, they come mostly from Eastern Europe and Latin America. or the Philippines and they intended to welcome a growing number of recruits into their ranks.
“There is always a demand for badanti. The family of the lady I care for often asks me to find candidates for relatives or acquaintances. It works by word of mouth.”, explain mme Dzhevegeska, employed 24 hours a day by a 91-year-old Roman woman, refers them to her contacts in a Ukrainian community that has seen the arrival of a new wave of women looking for work since the Russian aggression in February 2022, while Italy’s demographic indicators are more alarming than ever.
Italy, the country with the oldest population in Europe, with an average age of 48 according to Eurostat, the European statistical agency, has 24.1% of people over 65 on its territory. Their number represents 37.4% of the working-age population, another European record. The country also recorded in 2023 the lowest number of births since its unification in 1861 with 379,000 newborns, 3.6% less than the previous year, the fifteenth drop since 2008.
“Lack of sufficient tax incentive”
On the Peninsula, young people are disappearing, the elderly are increasing and need help. ” HE badanti They are a fundamental pillar of the Italian system, between the culture of family care for the elderly and the inadequacy of public services.”, “This is a very important step forward for us,” says Elisabetta Notarnicola, a researcher specialising in social policies and associate professor at Bocconi University in Milan. “In the absence of public investment, the demand for badanti is destined to increase. »
Much of the supply that could meet this need is found abroad. The 2024 edition of the report prepared by the Assindatcolf association, which represents the interests of entrepreneurs in the sector, together with the research centre on migration issues IDOS, estimates that in 2025 Italy will need almost 2.3 million home-based workers, of which more than 1.5 million are foreigners. These figures take into account the irregular share of the market, estimated at 53.5% in 2021, between undeclared work and “grey” work. when only a part of the hours worked are declared. “In the absence of sufficient tax incentives, informal work is the only option for many families”, estimates Andrea Zini, President of Assindatcolf.
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