Immigrant Care Workers

It is interesting to note the role of government policies in shaping the economy and the flow of labor migrants, particularly immigrant care workers. Care Work or commonly known as ‘domestic or household work’ has in the past decades became more international, transcending borders and nations, with the expansion of globalization and neoliberal economic policies, often dictated by major players of economies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which is undeniably controlled by developed nations. The beneficiaries are often the wealthier developed nations.

In the article, ‘The Globalization of care work: Neoliberal economic restructuring and migration policy’ the writers reaffirm the prominence of political, historical and economic

As more developed nations chooses to believe the in ideas of economic liberalization and push for globalization on a large scale basis, oblivion of the fact that the increase imposition of neoliberal economic policies has actually done more damage than what it thought was a rescue measure. It sure did brings multiple international players in the economic market but this is increasingly at the high expense of citizens’ rights to better welfare systems. The pattern of internationalization / transnationalisation of care workers is an outcome of historical and bilateral relations between countries that has had historical relations, neoliberal policies of developed nations, forcing economically weaker nations to depend on wealthier nations for their remittances to contribute to the sending countries as a form of tokenism wrapped with power and

Opening up opportunities from poor countries or in this context immigrant women care givers from the periphery nations come to the centre of developed nation to work illegally as domestic helpers or care givers. This pattern silently creates an unspoken migration language, where the demand and supply gap converges under the table, thus creating a win-win situation for the both the care-giver and the employer. Thus the state remains a passive observer as this pattern unfolds across developed countries. The language of migration and flow of remittances from developed countries to under-developed or developing countries reflects the thematic perspectives of development in Asturo Escobar’s idea of development of the centre at the expense of the periphery and A.G. Frank’s model of development of the