When the carer cannot come
Migrant care labour, mobility law and the fragile autonomy of old age in Singapore and Austria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2833Keywords:
Migrant care labour, home care, relational autonomy, continuity of care, comparative socio-legal studiesAbstract
How should law allocate responsibility when an older person's care at home depends on a migrant worker who becomes unavailable? This article compares Singapore's migrant domestic work arrangements with Austria's rotational live-in care market through legislation, contractual requirements, funding rules and published evidence of COVID-19 disruption in 2020–2021. Both systems already connect care needs with labour arrangements. The difficulty concerns what those connections secure. Funding eligibility, contractual information and priority entry procedures do not necessarily identify an actor responsible for procuring timely substitute assistance. The article distinguishes these obligations and examines whether intensive eldercare can adequately be organised as domestic work. It argues for assessed, graduated arrangements combining household support with funded relief and professional services. Continuity should protect the older person's practical choices without restricting a carer's freedom to leave, rest or refuse unsafe work.
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