Joint recommendations for the European Care Strategy regarding migrant care providers and service users
- Document number
- 3442
- Date
- 17 March 2022
- Title
- Joint recommendations for the European Care Strategy regarding migrant care providers and service users
- Author/publisher
- PICUM
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Guidelines/Recommendations,
- Keywords
- care work migrant workers domestic workers au pair undocumented
- Summary
Together with PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants and other European organisations, La Strada International submitted joint recommendations for the European Care Strategy regarding migrant care providers and service users.
Currently labour shortages in care and the lack of available and affordable formal care options are being met by precarious intra-EU mobile or non-EU migrant workers – often working as domestic workers or au pairs, without permits, social protection, or professional support.
Major challenges include exploitative working conditions and pay; abusive recruitment practices and employment arrangements; short-term contracts and work permits; dependence of care workers on employers or agencies for housing as well as employment; and restrictive labour migration policies that do not recognise community and home care work as eligible occupations in general work permit schemes, or provide precarious and dependent permits that tie workers to particular employment relationships.
Undeclared work, underpayment or non-payment of wages, and unpaid overtime and on-call hours are common. The sector is already characterised by low wages, with many care workers receiving below the median wage even when paid according to Undeclared work, underpayment or non-payment of wages, and unpaid overtime and on-call hours are common. Live-in carers are particularly at risk of extreme working and on-call hours without adequate privacy, rest periods and holidays, as well as isolation.
This is particularly the case in 24-hour elderly care provided by live-in care workers, whether temporary cross-border EU workers or third-country nationals, where workers are always on call, with lack of respect for breaks, lack of private life, and on-call hours unpaid. Care workers may also be required to take on tasks beyond their job and training, such as carrying out domestic work for other relatives and certain health care treatments.
Private recruitment agencies are often involved in organising the rotation of care workers in and out of these exploitative conditions. Lack of organisation of workers in the sector, in particular those working in the home and/or mobile and migrant workers poses an additional challenge to collective bargaining and improvements of conditions in the sector. The EC and MS should ensure full application of all employment regulations, including the ‘Working Time Directive’ and proposed Directive on adequate minimum wages, to all care workers, including domestic workers.
See full recommendations to address these isssues.