International Recruitment of Health Workers

Abstract

Immigration as a solution to staff and skill shortages in the health system is increasingly on the agenda in the EU. The paper highlights the related social and policy dilemmas by comparing a new with an old destination country: Spain and the United Kingdom. After describing the challenges met by the UK, the article asks how far Spain is prepared to face the same issues. In particular, attention is paid to the occupational mobility of health workers after entry and to how immigration as a staffing solution poses new political and social challenges. Through the review of the background information regarding the immigration of health workers in the two countries, and the preliminary analysis of 15 exploratory interviews, this paper aims to identify the main trends and the key concerns for future analysis. Although our interviews only allow us to draw tentative conclusions, they do highlight emerging issues to be explored in the near future.Our conclusions show that many of the problems traditionally encountered in the UK are now emerging in Spain, suggesting scope for further collaboration between government, employers and other stakeholders across the EU.

Labour market regulation and the demand for migrant labour: A comparison of the adult social care sector in England and the Netherlands

“…While acknowledging the importance of other factors such as care and migration policies but also historical, cultural, and especially linguistic ties (Lozano et al, 2015), the findings highlight the role of social regulation and union power in shaping the demand for migrant labour. This finds further confirmation in the fact that the employment of migrant labour in the Netherlands, even if still limited, has increased more in informal live-in domiciliary care (Da Roit and Van Bochove, 2017), than in formal (residential) care where trade union presence is stronger.…”

A Canadian Immigration Model for Europe? Labour Market Uncertainty and Migration Policy in Canada, Germany and Spain

“…Spain only became a net immigration country in 1986, paradoxically at a time when unemployment was at 22% -but it was starting to decline. by immigrants in the mid-2000s were construction, due to a speculation bubble (Meardi et al 2012), and care, due to ageing population, increased female labour market participation and public policies subsidising care work (Lozano et al 2015). This is not surprising given the extreme labour market orientation of immigration in Spain, where asylum is of very little importance and family reunion rather recent: the economic activity rate of immigrants in Spain was, at 77%, 20 points above that of nationals.…”