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The Role of Migrant Care Workers in Ageing Societies: Report on Research Findings in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States

Document number
2795
Date
2011
Title
The Role of Migrant Care Workers in Ageing Societies: Report on Research Findings in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States
Author/publisher
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Availability
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Document type(s)
Research/Study/Analysis,
Keywords
Irregular Migration, Feminization of migration, Economic migration, Labour migration, Free movement, Undocumented migrants; Undocumented labour;
Summary
We found that migrant caregivers already play a substantial role in all four countries and the shift toward older populations, coupled with declining domestic labour supplies, is likely to generate a latent demand for more migrant caregivers. That possibility will likely be bolstered, given recent trends - except perhaps in Ireland - toward the provision of low-wage care in less-regulated areas such as care in home-based settings. Our data show that employer demand for migrant caregivers is shaped by a combination of factors. For example, employers stress the benefits of migrant workers and claim not to pay migrants less than native workers. At the same time, this is overall a low-wage sector which, employers report, fails to attract nativeborn workers because of low wages and unfavourable employment conditions, and our findings suggest issues relating to migrants' working conditions that need to be addressed. Employers' preferences may be shaped by the perception that their "good work ethic" effectively means that migrants do the job on the employer's terms, that they are willing to work hours and shifts which native-born workers often resist. Furthermore, migrants' loyalty to the organization may, in no small part, be because they are bound to the employer by their immigration status - temporary work visas, in particular, keep migrants tied to their sponsoring employer. We suggest that policies affecting employment conditions for migrant care workers should be prioritized.
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