Migrant care workers are facing "widespread discrimination in
pay and working conditions" and hostility from some older people,
despite the sector's increasing dependence on them.
That was the message from a study produced today by
Oxford University's Centre on Migration, Policy and
Society.
It found the number of foreign-born carers in the UK had grown
significantly in the past ten years and they now accounted for 19%
of the older people's workforce.
It said this growth was driven by employers' inability to
attract sufficient numbers of UK-born workers given current levels
of pay and conditions.
However, it found that while the average pay of care workers was
£6.56 an hour, there was evidence that some migrant staff were
receiving less than the minimum wage - currently £5.73 an hour.
There was also a negative attitude to migrant carers by some
older people, including verbal abuse.
The centre's deputy director, Sarah Spencer, said: "This study
shows that we already rely heavily on migrant care workers. Yet we
are talking about an invisible migrant workforce, a neglected
dimension that has not surfaced in policy debates on the future of
the sector."
Among a number of recommendations, it called on the Equality and
Human Rights Commission to address the discrimination experienced
by migrant care workers, including by providing guidance for
employers on handling the hostility of some older people.
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