Confronted with COVID-19: Migrant live-in care during the pandemic

Abstract

In the spring 2020, measures introduced across Europe to limit the spread of COVID-19 included, among others, the temporary closure of borders. For Romanian and Slovakian live-in carers, this meant they were no longer able to commute between the Austrian households they work in and their respective countries of origin. Due to the relatively short cyclical rotas of 2–4 weeks, travel restrictions heavily affected cross-border live-in care between the three countries, which makes them a particular case for studying the effects of pandemic-related measures on transnational care arrangements. Drawing on media reports, relevant laws and policies, and interviews with representatives of care workers’ interests, the article examines how live-in care as a whole and care workers in particular were affected by the pandemic and related policy responses such as specific travel arrangements and financial incentives for workers. It shows that while live-in carers were deemed critical workers and essential for the long-term care system, the inequalities and dependencies already existing in transnational care arrangements were deepened. Care workers’ wants, needs and interests were subordinated to the interests of care recipients, agencies and sending and receiving countries.

Alapvető anyaság : Az anyai szerep felértékelődése középosztálybeli magyar nők körében az első Covid19-lezárások idején

“…A járvány nők helyzetére gyakorolt hatása szintén jelentős figyelmet kapott. A vírus terjedésével gyorsan egyértelművé vált, hogy a korábban sok helyütt alulfinanszírozott egészségügyi és szociális ellátás, és az ezen ágazatokban, valamint a helyi és transznacionális gondozási migrációban dolgozó nők nélkülözhetetlen szerepet játszanak a járványkezelésben (Utzet-Bacigalupe-Navarro 2022, Leiblfinger et al 2021. Mindeközben az oktatási és nevelési intézmények lezárása megsokszorozta a háztartásokban a gondoskodási feladatokat.…”

Psychotherapists’ Reports regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Patients: A Cross-National Descriptive Study Based on the Social-Ecological Model (SEM)

“…For live-in carers and other workers from neighbouring countries, such as Czechia and Slovakia, they could no longer commute between the Austrian households they work in and their countries of origin. A study showed that during the initial stage of the pandemic, workers’ interests were subordinated to the interests of care recipients and agencies [ 59 ], and we suspect that this shows in our data. Among the responses found in Austria are fears of police sanctions and the experience of loss of personal freedom.…”

EU labor policy recommendations drawn from COVID‐driven research attention on cross‐border commuting – A review

“…Qualitative, as well as quantitative approaches, can be seen. Descriptive analysis (e.g., document or social media analysis), as well as (semi‐structured) interviews, are the prevailing forms of qualitative research in the selected articles (e.g., Baez Moreno, 2020; Böhm, 2022; de Vries, 2020; Leiblfinger et al, 2021; Martin & Bergmann, 2021; Medeiros et al, 2021; Novotný, 2021; Opioła & Böhm, 2022; Virkkunen, 2020; Wu, 2021; Zhou et al, 2021). In addition to this, multiple forms of statistical modeling can be found (e.g., Hamidi et al, 2020; Laroze et al, 2021; Wilmes et al, 2021).…”

“…On the one hand, the literature targets the effects of a border closure as a ‘non‐pharmaceutical intervention’ (Aravindakshan et al, 2020, p. 2) for the spread of the COVID‐19 virus and chains of infection across borders (Brugués Rodríguez et al, 2021; Hamidi et al, 2020; Laroze et al, 2021; Lemey et al, 2021; van Hensbergen et al, 2021; Williams et al, 2021; Wilmes et al, 2021). On the other hand, the literature focuses on the impact of border closures on the mobility and daily life of the population in border regions (Böhm, 2022; Haddawy et al, 2021; Järv et al, 2021; Kajta & Opiłowska, 2021; Leiblfinger et al, 2021; Martin & Bergmann, 2021; Medeiros et al, 2021; Novotný, 2021; O'Connor et al, 2021; Spennemann, 2021; Virkkunen, 2020). A smaller share of literature refers to the responsiveness and inclusion of decision‐makers on local, regional, and EU levels in reacting to the COVID‐19 pandemic and the attempts to contain the spread of the virus or to break the chains of infection by closing national borders (Böhm, 2022; de Vries, 2020; Francetic, 2021; Kajta & Opiłowska, 2021; Medeiros et al, 2021; O'Connor et al, 2021; Opioła & Böhm, 2022).…”

“…In the specific case of Romanian and Slovakian care workers in Austria, the importance of the foreign labor force in the branch of live‐in care was enhanced owing to the pandemic. Nevertheless, their needs have been ‘subordinated to those of care recipients and their families, brokering agencies and sending and receiving countries’ (Leiblfinger et al, 2021, p. 12).…”