Improving care workers' 
conditions in Europe

The European Commission's 'Care Strategy' could have been a start to re-value care across Europe, especially because it advocated that EU Member States ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189 on domestic work and addressed the working conditions of ‘domestic long-term care workers’. 

After all, an estimated 4% of total employment is in the Personal & Household Services (PHS) sectors. The demand for paid domestic work – both direct and indirect care – is rapidly increasing due to various factors, including a preference for home care over care homes, the rising employment of babysitters and au pairs, and wealthy individuals' growing expenditure on home care services. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend, legitimized by discourses on person-centered care. Despite this, the EU Care Strategy largely overlooked how to empower domestic and home care workers as well as regulate paid work in personal households.  

To date, official data is unable to grasp the reality of home care and domestic work because of the high levels of what the European Commission calls ‘undeclared work’, or what is commonly referred to as under the hand payments for direct and indirect care services. 

As one social partner statement notes, "the latest Eurobarometer survey on the topic suggests that around 34% of all undeclared work (UDW) undertaken in the EU in 2019 was in PHS. Recent estimates show that, among the 9,5 million domestic workers to be found in Europe, at least 3,1 million of them are undeclared".

It is in this context that workers' and users' experiences of home care, domestic work and personal and household services need to be centred when devising policies and developing strategies to re-value this kind of labour. 

After all, these workers can be considered politically voiceless and more often than not remain non-unionized, contributing to the power imbalances in their employment relations. With the PHS Employment Monitor, we tried do just this and provide a holistic view of persons' employment and social conditions, which are further devalued by racism, sexism and person's migration status.

To bring this idea to life, we collaborated with employees, users, and employers, asking similar questions to all. Our partners included EFFAT (a sister union) and the employers' associations EFSI and EFFE, both supporters of ILO Convention 189. 

Back in 2021, we had collaborated on a large conference promoting the ratification of this Convention and have deepened our cooperation with the goal of promoting collective bargaining and social dialogue in personal and household services. 

The digital agency and worker cooperative Jarrow Insights from Ireland and the UK, assisted in developing the questionnaire, setting up a website, and analyzing data. Their involvement was crucial not just for the technical aspects, but also for ensuring that the survey was designed in a way that truly captured the lived experiences of PHS workers.

Despite initial skepticism among colleagues about our ability to collect 1.500 responses, we gathered more than 6.500 respondents, including more than 4.500 from workers. The overwhelming participation is a testament to the urgent need for change in the PHS sector. It also highlights the willingness of workers, users and employers to share their experiences and contribute to a collective effort to improve their working conditions. 

To our knowledge, this makes it the largest survey of employees in mobile care, private households, and domestic services to date. Over 300 people registered for our online webinar, underlining persons' thirst to improve working conditions in the sector and build a movement for better conditions in the PHS sectors.

Migration status, sexism and labour relations in PHS

With the highest number of fascists and far-right politicians elected to the European Parliament and the EU Commission seeking to make bilateral deals with third countries to attract 'skilled' migrants into the EU, the question of migrant workers deserved particular attention in our Monitor. 

Migrant workers are a backbone of the PHS sectors, yet they often face the most severe exploitation. These workers fill crucial gaps in the care infrastructure, often exploited due to wage disparities between countries within the EU as well as between EU countries and those of the Global South. Our Monitor finds that "overall, about a 40% of migrant PHS workers said that they faced administrative difficulties related to their migration status when trying to find PHS work".

As social partners alongside NGOs, we have been advocating for fair migration policies, the regularization of undocumented workers, and the decoupling of labour inspections from migration status to empower workers to report exploitation without fear of recrimination. 

Ensuring fair treatment for migrant workers is not only a matter of justice but also critical for the sustainability of the PHS sector. By advocating for fair migration policies and supporting the regularization of undocumented workers, we aim to create a more equitable and stable workforce.

This goal runs up against the issue of the severe power imbalances at work in personal households. The intimate and isolated nature of much of this work makes it particularly susceptible to such abuses. The study revealed alarming levels of workplace harassment and violence. About 28% of surveyed PHS employees reported harassment, and 15,9% experienced violence, with significant variations across countries.

Overexploitation manifests in excessively long work hours, high productivity expectations, and frequent task switching. About a quarter of employees reported working over 40 hours a week, and many experienced psychological strain, which worsened with increased work hours. 

The high levels of overexploitation and resulting mental health issues among PHS workers are alarming. This is particularly the case for live-in care workers. Approximately a quarter of respondents lived in the households where they worked, with many facing precarious situations. Live-in arrangements can be particularly problematic due to the lack of clear boundaries between work and personal time. 

While live-in arrangements can offer security in terms of housing and meals, they often place workers at the mercy of their employers, exacerbating the challenges faced by PHS workers. Workers in these situations often face demands for constant availability, making it difficult to rest and recuperate.

Unionization, collective bargaining and social dialogue

Improving conditions in the PHS sector requires multidimensional change. Economic, political, and cultural shifts are necessary.

The key to changing cultural attitudes is closely connected to increasing the levels of unionisation. Historically, the PHS sector has been difficult to organize due to the dispersed nature of the work and the lack of formal workplaces. 

However, unionisation in the PHS sector remains weak, and self-organized groups cannot negotiate wages and working conditions. On the other side of the table, employers' organisations remain weak as well, meaning that workers don't even have someone to negotiate with at the sectoral level. 

That is why EFFAT and UNI Europa have launched the social dialogue with EFFE and EFSI at the EU level. We believe that this will enable us to strengthen trade unions and our counterparts to strengthen employers' associations with the goal of negotiating better wages and working conditions.

The new EU minimum wage directive offers opportunities for trade unions to negotiate better terms, but governments need to act to. Unions and employers can organize both workers and service users, raising awareness about working conditions, and advocating for ethical employment practices. 

Yet, it requires governmental action to support collective bargaining and formalised employment relations in the sector. 

A comprehensive approach to improving the PHS sector involves not just addressing immediate issues like wages and working conditions, but also tackling broader systemic problems. This includes advocating for policies that support fair migration, closing the gender pay gap and insisting on policies that promote "equal pay for work of equal value".

In conclusion, the PHS Employment Monitor represents a significant step in closing the knowledge gap on working conditions in the PHS sectors. The future of the PHS sector depends on our ability to recognize and address the unique challenges faced by its workers. 

Through initiatives like the PHS Employment Monitor, we can gather the data needed to inform policy and advocacy efforts, build stronger organizations to represent workers, and foster a culture of respect and fairness.

This increasing demand underscores the importance of ensuring fair and sustainable working conditions for PHS workers. As more families and individuals rely on these services, it becomes crucial to address labour issues in the sector. 

Together with EFFAT, EFFE, EFSI and our national organisations, we will establish sectoral observatories to identify common challenges and develop common solutions to labour issues in the sector.