Neoliberal austerity and the marketisation of elderly care

Schwiter, Karin; Berndt, Christian; Truong, Jasmine

doi:10.1080/14649365.2015.1059473

Cited by 66 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The study also demonstrates how even though the NII workers are engaged with various stakeholders, they often lack direct contact with older adults, their family members and paid home care workers, the most direct stakeholders influenced by the LTCIL. These finding are consistent with research on the marketisation of elder care, which is hypothesised to be due to attempts to save money in a neoliberal economy, which views the individual as responsible for his or her welfare (Schwiter, Berndt, & Truong, ). Nevertheless, the study calls for a broader definition of the NII's roles in order to ensure that the resources provided through the LTCIL adequately meet the needs of older adults.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For Policysupporting

confidence: 88%

Between older adults' needs and the law: The Israeli Long Term Care Insurance Law from the Perspectives of Service Users and Providers

Ayalon

2018

Health Soc Care Community

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The Israeli Long Term Care Insurance Law (LTCIL) was one of the first long term care insurances in the world to support older adults and their family members and allow them to stay in their homes for as long as possible. The present study aimed to evaluate the perspectives of older adults, their family members and home care workers regarding the LTCIL. Views of workers of the National Insurance Institute (NII), which is directly responsible for the enactment of the law, are also integrated. Interviews were conducted between June 2016 and June 2017. Thematic qualitative analysis is based on interviews with 15 NII workers, 31 older adults, 31 family members, and 6 paid home care workers. The present study stresses the tension between the LTCIL and older adults' perceived rights and needs. It also demonstrates how even though the NII workers are engaged with various stakeholders, they often lack direct contact with older adults, their family members and paid home care workers: those most directly influenced by the LTCIL. Policy considerations are discussed.

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Section: Conclusion and Implications For Policysupporting

confidence: 88%

Between older adults' needs and the law: The Israeli Long Term Care Insurance Law from the Perspectives of Service Users and Providers

Ayalon

2018

Health Soc Care Community

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“…Additionally, the contracts between the agencies and the households usually include the promise of an instant replacement, in case a care worker falls sick or is unable to work for any other reason. Furthermore, the service usually entails the unconditional option to demand a different care worker at any time, if the worker fails to meet the expectations of the customer (Schwiter et al, ). This is possible because Swiss labour regulations offer virtually no protection from dismissal for temporary workers (Medici, ).…”

Section: The Institutionalisation Of Live‐in Care Work In the Uk Canmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is possible because Swiss labour regulations offer virtually no protection from dismissal for temporary workers (Medici, ). In addition to the instant replacement clause, labour activists and scholars criticise the agencies for excessive working hours, the implicitly required presence of care workers around the clock, as well as the salaries below a living wage (Schilliger, ; Schwiter et al., ).…”

Section: The Institutionalisation Of Live‐in Care Work In the Uk Canmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ivana, a Polish care worker in Switzerland, recalls what many interviewees told us in similar words: “I got up five times a night and couldn't rest all day either, because I constantly had to be on call.” In most cases the hours in between individual tasks, which in effect require the worker to remain present at the workplace, are not considered working hours and thus not remunerated. In Switzerland, for example, care workers’ contracts usually stipulate only six to eight hours of paid work a day (Schwiter et al., ). In spite of the low number of formal working hours, it is often difficult for the care workers to leave their workplaces for even a few hours.…”

Section: Comparing the Four Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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At home with the boss: Migrant live‐in caregivers, social reproduction and constrained agency in the UK, Canada, Austria and Switzerland

Schwiter

Strauss

England

2018

Trans Inst British Geog

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In many countries of the global North, families increasingly rely on live‐in caregivers to look after their children and elderly. Although much care work remains unpaid and informal, several states have set up a variety of migration and labour regimes to guarantee a steady supply of workers to provide paid live‐in care in the home. This paper contributes to a broadening of the focus of labour geography beyond “productive” labour by factoring in the theoretical perspective of social reproduction into the debates on constrained agency. Our aim is to identify the mechanisms that make these regimes function for employers and employees, and their consequences for the social reproduction of the workers. To do so we compare live‐in care schemes in the UK, Canada, Austria and Switzerland and examine the ways in which live‐in care is differentially institutionalised. Our policy analysis in these four countries shows that the constrained agency of the workers does not solely stem from their status as migrants, but is produced by the nexus of specific migration, care and gendered labour regimes. Furthermore, we argue that we need to extend our perspective beyond the immediate work context to see how live‐in care regimes not only infringe, but also enable, the social reproduction of the workers – a fact that has often been neglected by existing research.

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“…Questions about how newer border-crossing old age care organisations establish themselves in the old age care market have been little researched so far (Schwiter et al 2014(Schwiter et al , 2018. Some references can be found in studies dealing with placement agencies for migrant care workers (ibid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Care facilities for Germans in Thailand and Poland: making old age care abroad legitimate

Schweppe

2019

Int J Ageing Later Life

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This article looks at old age care facilities abroad that target people who live in Germany. Such facilities have been established in Southeast Asia (mainly Thailand) and in Eastern Europe (mainly Poland). Given that they challenge central guiding orientations for old age care in Germany, considerable criticisms are levelled at them, and their use is viewed with distinct scepticism. Nevertheless, some of these facilities succeed in sustaining considerable demand from Germany over quite a few years. In this article, we therefore ask what strategies and arguments they use to make them a legitimate option for people in Germany and to be established on the German market. Based on two case studies of an old age facility in Thailandand Poland, we will show how they skilfully position themselves as “better” options for residential care even though their strategies considerably vary and result in very different models of old age care. Drawing on neo-institutional organisation theories, we will show how these strategies are essential for the facilities’ emergence as new players in the care market for older people from Germany.

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Neoliberal austerity and the marketisation of elderly care

Cited by 66 publications

References 45 publications

Between older adults' needs and the law: The Israeli Long Term Care Insurance Law from the Perspectives of Service Users and Providers

Between older adults' needs and the law: The Israeli Long Term Care Insurance Law from the Perspectives of Service Users and Providers

At home with the boss: Migrant live‐in caregivers, social reproduction and constrained agency in the UK, Canada, Austria and Switzerland

Care facilities for Germans in Thailand and Poland: making old age care abroad legitimate

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