Abstract
In Portugal, cooperation between the state and non-governmental organisations has led to the creation of institutions that provide care services, called IPSS [Private Institutions of Social Solidarity]. This paper presents the results of an ethnography carried out in a rural IPSS that provides care for the elderly. The fieldwork aimed to understand how claims for justice are negotiated between care workers, care users and employers. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the debate on redistributive justice by showing how inequality of income affects access to care as well as examining the idea of justice as a lived experience by demonstrating how claims for justice are depicted in day-by-day relationships of care. This paper is divided into two parts, the first being an introduction contextualising Portuguese care work. The second part focuses on António’s story and reflects upon the work of two caregivers and their claim for justice.
Highlights
The neoliberal way of thinking and its assumption that all services are best provided through the market (Lynch, 2007: 564) has led to the commodification of care work, overlooking the fact that the disparity of economic resources translates into unequal access to care and to inequalities regarding who provides care and who receives it
REMARKS The care users who participated in this research were profoundly dependent on the caregivers to perform basic life tasks
Despite the efforts the care workers make to keep their emotional distance, the dependency of disabled people seems to have a significant impact on their lives
Summary
The neoliberal way of thinking and its assumption that all services are best provided through the market (Lynch, 2007: 564) has led to the commodification of care work, overlooking the fact that the disparity of economic resources translates into unequal access to care and to inequalities regarding who provides care and who receives it. Certain societal changes have taken place in various cultures, countries and societies, care work is still not fairly recognised as “work”, neither is it fairly distributed between women and men. In a European context, commodified care work often falls to specific groups of women – those with lower levels of education or migrants (ibidem). This paper focuses on the life and working conditions of both care workers and care users in Portugal. Analysing commodified care work in a nursing home allows us to better understand the current situation of redistributive (in)justice in the life of care workers and users, which may help stakeholders better understand the status of elderly care nationwide
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