The Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the role of key workers in providing essential services. Michael Leiblfinger and Veronika Prieler examine the case of migrant domestic carers, who perform a vital service in many European countries. They argue that while there has been a great deal of discussion about the service live-in carers provide, there has been relatively little done to improve their working conditions

Leiblfinger, Michael

Prieler, Veronika

English

LSE Research Online

Forgotten	key	workers:	Why	migrant	domestic	carersdeserve	greater	supportThe	Covid-19	pandemic	has	drawn	attention	to	the	role	of	key	workers	in	providing	essential	services.	MichaelLeiblfinger	and	Veronika	Prieler	examine	the	case	of	migrant	domestic	carers,	who	perform	a	vital	service	inmany	European	countries.	They	argue	that	while	there	has	been	a	great	deal	of	discussion	about	the	service	live-incarers	provide,	there	has	been	relatively	little	done	to	improve	their	working	conditions.The	Covid-19	pandemic	highlighted	some	employees	as	critical	or	key	workers	who	are	typically	not	highlyregarded.	Food	and	other	necessary	goods	workers,	including	agricultural	labourers	and	supermarket	staff,transportation	workers,	parcel	delivery	staff,	and	health	and	social	care	workers,	received	increased	public	attentionwhen	the	pandemic	first	spread	throughout	Europe.	They	were	clapped	and	cheered	for	providing	essentialservices	while	at	the	same	time	often	working	under	precarious	conditions.Women	and/or	migrants	make	up	a	high	proportion	of	workers	in	the	majority	of	these	undervalued	fields.	Live-incarers,	who	are	frequently	women	from	Central	and	Eastern	Europe,	are	one	of	those	groups	of	overworked	andunderpaid	workers.	They	not	only	work,	but	also	live	in	the	home	of	the	recipients	of	their	care	and	are	often	askedto	work	long	hours	including	at	night	while	making	comparatively	little	income.	Especially	in	countries	like	Germanyand	Italy,	where	the	family	plays	a	significant	role	in	providing	care,	live-in	arrangements	have	become	anincreasingly	important	pillar	of	elderly	care.The	latter	also	holds	true	for	Austria.	Although	Austria’s	legalised	self-employment	model	is	unique	in	the	sense	ofits	formalisation	and	the	public	live-in	care	allowance	for	recipients,	the	country	shares	many	similarities	with	otherstates	that	are	dependent	on	migrant	live-in	care	workers,	especially	with	respect	to	the	transnationality	ofarrangements	and	precarious	working	conditions.	Eight	in	ten	live-in	carers	registered	in	Austria	travel	fromRomania	and	Slovakia,	95	percent	are	women,	and	the	majority	are	over	40,	with	almost	one	in	five	over	60	yearsof	age.Low	wages	or	pensions	and	poor	job	opportunities,	especially	for	older	women,	push	carers	to	accept	oftenburdensome	and	precarious	transnational	live-in	care	arrangements.	Typically,	migrant	care	workers	are	brokeredby	agencies	and	two	carers	alternate	in	one	household	in	rotas	of	two	to	four	weeks.	These	comparatively	shortstays	meant	that	Austrian	live-in	care	arrangements	were	more	vulnerable	to	closed	borders	and	other	travelrestrictions	put	in	place	to	tackle	the	pandemic.	Indeed,	the	situation	received	both	media	and	political	attentioneven	before	the	first	lockdown	went	into	effect.To	facilitate	the	extension	of	care	worker	rotas	during	the	first	wave	of	the	pandemic,	a	publicly	funded	bonus	forlive-in	carers	that	prolonged	their	stay	for	at	least	four	weeks	was	introduced.	Furthermore,	the	federal	governmentinitiated	talks	with	neighbouring	countries	with	the	aim	of	creating	corridors	that	suddenly	critical	live-in	care	workerscould	use	to	cross	national	borders.	Similar	to	agricultural	labourers,	who	were	needed	(or	rather,	wanted)	for	thespring	harvest	in	several	European	countries,	charter	flights	and	special	trains	were	organised	to	ensure	the	supplyof	live-in	care	workers.These	measures	give	an	indication	of	the	pressures	political	actors	faced	during	the	first	months	of	the	pandemic.These	pressures	resulted	in	public	recognition	of	several	actors,	such	as	brokering	agencies	or	state	authorities,	assaviours	of	the	live-in	model.	However,	care	workers	themselves	were	not	recognised	in	the	same	way.	Eventhough	some	media	reports	have	dubbed	them	‘heroines’	or	‘angels’,	the	views	of	live-in	carers	have	remainedunderreported	and	their	interests	regarded	as	secondary	concerns	in	Austria’s	pandemic	response.Forgotten	key	workersThe	precarity	and	power	imbalances	between	care	workers	and	agencies,	as	well	as	households,	have	in	manycases	become	exacerbated.	Like	other	critical	workers,	live-in	carers	are	unable	to	work	remotely	and	are	thus	at	ahigher	risk	from	the	virus	–	not	only	on	their	transnational	journeys,	but	also	since	care	recipients	and	their	visitorshave	not	been	required	to	undergo	testing.	Care	workers,	however,	had	to	be	tested	before	they	cross	borders	orgo	into	(unpaid)	quarantine	ahead	of	starting	their	work	in	the	households.LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Forgotten key workers: Why migrant domestic carers deserve greater support Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2021-03-05Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/03/05/forgotten-key-workers-why-migrant-domestic-carers-deserve-greater-support/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/Due	to	their	relatively	high	average	age,	live-in	carers	also	face	an	increased	risk	of	severe	illness	if	they	contractCovid-19.	Unlike	the	recipients	of	their	care,	live-in	workers	nevertheless	have	not	been	considered	to	be	inparticular	need	of	protection.	This	became	evident	by	the	months-long	delay	in	publicly	funded	PPE	and	pictures	onsocial	media	of	overcrowded	mini-buses	or	shared	rooms	in	quarantine	facilities.	However,	suspending	work	for	theduration	of	the	pandemic	was	not	an	option	for	most	care	workers	since	they	and	their	families	depend	on	theincome	they	make	in	Austria.During	their	rotas,	many	care	workers	spend	weeks	in	isolation,	with	(almost)	around-the-clock	availability	requiredof	them.	In	times	of	social	distancing,	this	isolation	has	become	even	more	acute,	leading	to	additionalpsychological	burdens	stemming	from	a	lack	of	opportunities	for	professional	and	personal	exchanges.	Even	beforethe	pandemic,	carers	faced	difficulties	in	this	context	due	to	their	transnational	lives	and	their	delocalisedworkplaces.Nevertheless,	since	last	March,	an	increase	in	information	exchanges	through	online	social	networks	and	attemptsto	self-organise	in	the	hope	of	making	their	concerns	heard	can	be	observed.	In	this	sense,	care	workers	havereacted	to	the	near-constant	state	of	uncertainty	they	now	live	in.	They	are	obliged	to	contend	with	quickly	changingregulations	and	a	lack	of	information	from	both	brokering	agencies	and	state	authorities	alike.However,	it	remains	to	be	seen	whether	this	will	increase	live-in	carers’	independence	and	bargaining	power	vis-à-vis	agencies	and	households.	Growing	pandemic-related	unemployment	in	their	countries	of	origin	gives	rise	toconcerns	that	live-in	carers	will	continue	to	find	themselves	in	precarious	situations	–	either	in	transnational	carearrangements	or	when	trying	to	find	alternative	employment.	Against	this	backdrop,	it	is	vital	that	the	current	rhetoricsurrounding	live-in	carers	as	critical	workers	is	accompanied	by	action	that	leads	to	tangible	change:	namely,substantial	improvements	in	care	workers’	situations	and	a	broader	critical	discussion	of	sustainable	care	systems.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	not	the	position	of	EUROPP	–	European	Politics	and	Policy	or	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	Featured	image	credit:	Patient	Care	Technician	(CC	BY	2.0)LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Forgotten key workers: Why migrant domestic carers deserve greater support Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2021-03-05Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/03/05/forgotten-key-workers-why-migrant-domestic-carers-deserve-greater-support/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/

Forgotten key workers: why migrant domestic carers deserve greater support

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Forgotten key workers: why migrant domestic carers deserve greater support

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