February 2 2024

A new report from Public Services International (PSI), Decent Work and Quality Long-term Care Systems, looks at what measures are needed to improve long-term care and home care. It provides evidence-based information that is useful to unions and others campaigning for improvements. In the report, long-term care is used to refer to both residential care homes and home care. The report makes clear that good quality care is closely linked to the quality of working conditions for the workers providing the care. It also shows how the spread of for-profit care is undermining the care seniors receive in both the Global North and Global South.

Case studies include Ontario and British Columbia

The report included case studies of how long-term care and home care are provided in Ontario, British Columbia, France, Scotland, Chile, Australia, Fiji, and India. The case studies looked at what services are offered as well as things like wages, working conditions, and problems caused by privatization.

Poor treatment of migrant workers harms quality of care

Because of the disproportionate role played by migrant workers in delivering care in countries like Canada, the report also looks at their experience. The report found that migrant workers have even poorer working conditions and lower wages than locally born workers. Another finding was that, when migrant workers don’t have permanent residency, they are less able to voice concerns about wages and working conditions.