When the carer cannot come: Migrant care labour, mobility law and the fragile autonomy of old age in Singapore and Austria

Albert Tan

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2833

Autores/as

Albert Tan University of Groningen / Prince of Songkla University https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8996-7933

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2833

Palabras clave:

Trabajo asistencial de los migrantes, asistencia a domicilio, autonomía relacional, continuidad asistencial, estudios sociojurídicos comparados

Resumen

¿Cómo debería la ley asignar la responsabilidad cuando el cuidado de una persona mayor en su domicilio depende de un trabajador migrante que deja de estar disponible? Este artículo compara los acuerdos de trabajo doméstico migratorio de Singapur con el mercado austriaco de cuidados a domicilio por turnos, analizando la legislación, los requisitos contractuales, las normas de financiación y los datos publicados sobre las perturbaciones causadas por la COVID-19 en 2020-2021. Ambos sistemas ya vinculan las necesidades de cuidados con las modalidades laborales. La dificultad radica en qué es lo que garantizan esas vinculaciones. Los criterios de acceso a la financiación, la información contractual y los procedimientos de acceso prioritario no identifican necesariamente a un agente responsable de conseguir asistencia sustitutiva a tiempo. El artículo distingue estas obligaciones y examina si los cuidados intensivos a personas mayores pueden organizarse adecuadamente como trabajo doméstico. Aboga por acuerdos evaluados y graduados que combinen el apoyo doméstico con ayuda subvencionada y servicios profesionales. La continuidad debería proteger las opciones prácticas de la persona mayor sin restringir la libertad del cuidador para marcharse, descansar o rechazar un trabajo inseguro.

Descargas

Los datos de descargas todavía no están disponibles.

Metrics

Estadísticas globales

26 Visualizaciones	9 Descargas
35 Total

Biografía del autor/a

Albert Tan, University of Groningen / Prince of Songkla University

PhD Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, the Netherlands / Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Correspondence: s.h.a.tan@rug.nl

Citas

Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), no date. Home Caregiving Grant [online]. Available at: https://www.aic.sg/Financial-Assistance/Home-Caregiving-Grant.

Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) and Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), 2020. Neither family nor employee: The caregiver burden of migrant domestic workers in Singapore [online]. November. Available at: https://www.aware.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/Neither-Family-Nor-Employee-AWARE-HOME-Report-Nov-2020.pdf

Azman, N. D. B., et al., 2024. Informal caregiving time and its monetary value in the context of older adults in Singapore. Aging and Health Research [online], 4(2), 100193. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2024.100193 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2024.100193

Bauer, G., and Österle, A., 2016. Mid and later life care work migration: patterns of re-organising informal care obligations in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Aging Studies [online], 37, 81–93. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2016.02.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2016.02.005

Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz (BMSGPK), 2023. Richtlinien zur Unterstützung der 24-Stunden-Betreuung (§ 21b BPGG) [online]. Effective 1 September 2023. Available at: https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/dam/jcr:9c23c7b6-c50c-4779-8522-435e87144b04/24-Stunden-Betreuungs-Richtlinien_gem._%C2%A7_21_b_BPGG_barrierefrei.pdf.

Chiu, H. C., and Yen, C. M., 2026. Live-in migrant care workers as part of the long-term care workforce in Taiwan, Singapore, and Austria: implications for home-based dementia care. Journal of Aging & Social Policy [online], 38(1), 54–70. First published online 23 October 2024. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2024.2415175 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2024.2415175

European Commission, 2020. Guidelines concerning the exercise of the free movement of workers during COVID-19 outbreak, 2020/C 102 I/03. Official Journal of the European Union [online], CI 102, 30 March, 12–14. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020XC0330(03)

Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (Austria), no date. Personal care services [online]. Available at: https://www.bmwet.gv.at/en/Topics/Enterprise/Trades/Personal-care-services.html.

Federal Ministry of Social Affairs (Austria), 2026. Betreuende und pflegende Angehörige [online], section “Zuwendungen zu den Kosten der Ersatzpflege”. Updated 26 March. Available at: https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/Themen/Pflege/Betreuende-und-Pflegende-Angehoerige.html.

Fonds Soziales Wien, 2018. Care and support in Vienna: Our services at a glance [online]. 8th ed. Vienna: Fonds Soziales Wien. Available at: https://www.fsw.at/downloads/broschueren/pflege_betreuung/pflege-und-betreuung-wien-englisch.pdf

Heng, J. L., Fan, E., and Chan, E. Y., 2019. Caregiving experiences, coping strategies and needs of foreign domestic workers caring for older people. Journal of Clinical Nursing [online], 28(3–4), 458–468. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14619 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14619

Leiblfinger, M., et al., 2021. Confronted with COVID-19: migrant live-in care during the pandemic. Global Social Policy [online], 21(3), 490–507. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14680181211008340 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14680181211008340

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 2021. Written answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on MDW demand [online], 13 September. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-questions-and-replies/2021/0913-written-answer-by-minister-for-manpower-dr-tan-see-leng-to-pq-on-mdw-demand

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 2026. Response to adjournment motion on migrant domestic workers [online], 13 January. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/speeches/2026/0113-response-to-adj-motion-on-mdws

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-a. Employment rules for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) [online]. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-domestic-worker/employers-guide/employment-rules.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-b. Foreign workforce numbers [online]. Data through June 2026. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-workforce-numbers.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-c. Levy concession for a migrant domestic worker (MDW) [online]. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-domestic-worker/foreign-domestic-worker-levy/levy-concession.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-d. Rest days and well-being for migrant domestic workers [online]. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-domestic-worker/employers-guide/rest-days-and-well-being.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-e. Transfer a migrant domestic worker (MDW) directly to a new employer [online]. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-domestic-worker/transfer-to-a-new-employer.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM), no date-f. Who is covered by the Employment Act [online]. Available at: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/employment-act/who-is-covered.

Nedelsky, J., 1989. Reconceiving autonomy: sources, thoughts and possibilities. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism [online], 1(1), 7–36. Available at: https://openyls.law.yale.edu/entities/publication/b9ca2678-d136-4535-80c6-8536e5ea1ee3

Ortiga, Y. Y., Wee, K., and Yeoh, B. S. A., 2021. Connecting care chains and care diamonds: the elderly care skills regime in Singapore. Global Networks [online], 21(2), 434–454. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12281 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12281

Tam, W. J., et al., 2018. “I can’t do this alone”: A study on foreign domestic workers providing long-term care for frail seniors at home. International Psychogeriatrics [online], 30(9), 1269–1277. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610217002459 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610217002459