Precariousness and capabilities : migrant care/domestic workers in two institutional contexts

Hobson, Barbara (author), Bede, Luwam (author)

Across European societies there is an increasing number of precarious workers. In this study we focus on migrant care/domestic workers, an archetypical case to study the precariat in a sector characterized by informality, lack of access to employment rights and protections and where workers may face exploitation and abuse. We compare migrant care workers in two institutional contexts, Spain and Sweden, representing different welfare/care and migration regimes. Analyzing the effects of precarious work within the framework of capabilities, we consider whether there are similarities and differences in our two cases regarding wellbeing and quality of life of migrants working in the sector and their scope of alternatives for making change. The analysis is based on semi-structured interviews of migrants working in the care/domestic sector conducted in Madrid, Barcelona and Stockholm. We find less of a divergence than one would have expected, given our cases with different regimes and employment practices, though in Spain migrant care/domestic workers fare worse, which partly can be attributed to the recession.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2015
• Number of pages: Str. 327-349, 563
• Numbering: Letn. 52, št. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-85401
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• UDC: 331.556.44:331.102.12(460:485)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 33411165
• Publication date in RUL: 20.09.2016

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Po vsej Evropi je vse več prekarnih delavcev in delavk. V tem besedilu se osredotočamo na migrantke, ki opravljajo skrbstveno in gospodinjsko delo na domu. Te delavke so arhetipski primer za študij prekariata v dejavnosti, za katero sta značilna neformalnost ter pomanjkanje dostopa do pravic iz zaposlitve in v kateri delavci/-ke pogosto doživljajo izkoriščanje in zlorabo. Primerjali smo situacijo migrantskih delavk v dveh institucionalnih kontekstih, v Španiji in na Švedskem, ki predstavljata dva različna blaginjska/skrbstvena sistema. V analizi posledic prekarnega dela z uporabo koncepta zmožnosti nas je zanimalo, ali obstajajo podobnosti in razlike v naših dveh primerih glede blagostanja in kakovosti življenja migrantk in obsega alternativ, ki so jim na voljo za spremembe. Analiza temelji na rezultatih polstrukturiranih intervjujev migrantk v dejavnosti skrbi in gospodinjskega dela, opravljenih v Madridu, Barceloni in Stockholmu. Ugotovili smo manj razlik, kot bi bilo pričakovati, glede na to, da smo primerjali situacijo v dveh okoljih z različnim blaginjskim sistemom in prakso zaposlovanja. Kljub temu so migrantke v Španiji v slabšem položaju, kar lahko delno pripišemo recesiji.

• Keywords: prekarno delo