The Value of Care: Brokering Work Conditions and Wages within a Transnational Care System

Abstract

This article explains how the triadic brokering system in the European Union affects the conditions of work and pay of mobile care workers. Using original survey data gathered from Polish care workers in Germany, the authors found that workers earn less money the more hours they work. Based on qualitative interviews with care workers and representatives of labor market intermediaries, they argue that the brokering relationship is responsible for the misalignment between working hours and pay. Workers negotiate their pay and working hours within two distinct contexts: in the domestic sphere with their German clients (care recipients and their families) and in interactions with care agencies in Poland. The article also identifies the conditions under which workers are able to benefit from, or are disadvantaged by, the brokering relationship. Findings suggest that these consist of a combination of individual (e.g., language proficiency, professional care skills) and structural conditions (e.g., demographic changes, EU mobile rights).