The Association for Public Education (AOb) believes that education staff should be given an extra year to recover if they have long-standing complaints of COVID-19.

“People who got sick in the first wave and now have COVID-19 are getting close to disability screening,” says Tamara Van Gelder, president of the AOb. “But very little is known about the long-running coronavirus: no one knows when you can expect people to be completely better again. Give those who need it an extra year, so they can do everything they can to recover and recover.”

Employees who get sick get a full salary in the first year, in the second year it goes down to 70 percent of that. Anyone who has not yet returned to accept another job must still take it or become unable to work.

Compensation

AOb also wants the government to compensate education staff who have been suffering from coronavirus for a long time. Van Gelder: “At the beginning of the epidemic it was said that children would not be able to pass the virus on to adults. And that turned out to be incorrect. And when there were vaccines, we as the AOb urged us to prioritize teachers. But that is not the case. It did not happen. And now people In danger of becoming unable to work. Financial compensation is the only thing the government can do now. So do it.”

AOb opened a longtime hotline with FNV Education & Research over a week ago. More than 700 people have so far reported complaints such as fatigue, shortness of breath, forgetfulness, headache, muscle aches and chest pain. The government recognizes Corona complaints can last for weeks and sometimes months, but she says complaints decrease over time.