Migrants in Europe’s Domestic and Care Sector: The Institutional Response

This article draws attention to the case of migrant domestic and care workers employed by European household to provide home-based services such as cleaning, elderly care and childcare. We examine the impact of the pandemic on their conditions by looking at policy responses addressing their case and, when available, to statistical and qualitative data on their conditions before, during and after the pandemic crisis. Previous studies have shown that migrant domestic and care workers are more likely to work under precarious labour conditions compared to others (e.g. Lightman 2017, Jokela 2019). Furthermore, earlier research shows that institutions play a crucial role in shaping simultaneously their legal status as migrants and their employment status as workers (Williams & Gavanas 2008, Hellgren 2015, Jokela 2017). Governments may enhance their status through policies that regulate the migrants’ employment in the sector, or they may increase precariousness by promoting informal and irregular work, or through households offering incentives for households that actually weaken workers' positions. Different policy approaches to care needs of households with elderly members or young children also play an important role. We also know from earlier studies that there are significant cross-country differences in the status and employment conditions of these migrant workers, in Europe (Marchetti and Triandafyllidou 2014, 2017). In some countries, they enjoy the same labour rights as other workers, while in other countries they only benefit partly. Some countries have chosen the no policy option, leaving these workers in a very precarious situation. Above all, there is also the particular role of EU institutions which have been ambivalent on their position on this sector so far, and we might see how they react to this new challenge. Building on the awareness on the role of institutional actors, we first examine cross-nationally the policy responses taken by different countries to support migrant domestic and care workers throughout the pandemic by looking at whether they implemented specific measures (e.g. monetary income-support, unemployment benefits, health insurance provision, etc.) addressing their situation. We also review measures taken to support employers (e.g. cash transfers for home-based childcare) which might have had an effect on migrant workers in this field. This is done on the basis of institutional reports published in these months (e.g. Gentilini et al. 2020, ILO 2020). Secondly, we assess the impact of the pandemic (and related policies) on workers (employment status, hours, demographics, wages, etc.) and on migration status (residents permits, etc.) on the basis of public databases and other secondary data sources. Finally, we also discuss whether current policies have reinforced existing inequalities and outline what policies we might hope for future scenarios