Labour dispute and care

The grassroots movement - The project consists in the the self-organised movement of migrant live-in care givers in Austria. This grassroots movement rose in response to the severe social and labor-related disadvantages suffered by care givers in relation to the false self-employment system, to the ineffective lobbying and to the exploitative practices of many placement agencies or clients in need of live-in care. The social innovation within this project consists in the particular incentivizing of migrant care workers to act in solidarity with each other beyond national borders.

As self-employed workers, migrant live-in caregivers are often fully dependent on the people they care for and agencies. Live-in caregivers often have little independence and are vulnerable to exploitation. They are also not protected by labour laws as self-employed workers and are excluded from most social services by public institutions.

Labour dispute and care (“Arbeitskampf und Pflege”) is a democratically organised advocacy group that works to provide long-term solutions led by migrant live-in caregivers. We improve precarious working conditions faced by live-in caregivers as self-employed workers through counselling in different languages, training, assistance, and support in crises.

The caregivers set up an advocacy group to represent their rights effectively and democratically. They also lead decision-making processes and assert their right to self-determination. Through their work, they also raise awareness of the challenges and interests of migrant live-in caregivers as part of a task force by the Austrian Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Rights. 

The programme has reached more than 11,000 caregivers. Members develop organizational skills and experience in public relations, community building, and lobbying. They also benefit from access to information in their first language and advice from their colleagues.

Our project can be applied and serve as an example for “flexi-workers” in other sectors who also face precarious self-employment regulations and labour protection.