Background

Population ageing, declining fertility rates and changing family structures are rapidly transforming care needs worldwide. Demand for long-term care, childcare and support services is projected to grow significantly, while care sectors face persistent labour shortages, driven primarily by the chronic undervaluation of care work, insufficient public investment and poor working conditions.

Migrant workers have become an essential pillar of care systems globally – one in three working migrant women worldwide is a care worker. Yet, migrant care workers often lack adequate labour and social protection, face barriers to skills recognition and discrimination. Current systems for recruiting and employing migrant care workers are often fragmented and ill-equipped to respond to growing care needs. As workforce shortages intensify, global competition for care workers is increasing and reshaping labour migration dynamics.

The ILO will host a webinar on the future of decent work for migrant workers in the care economy. The session will explore key dynamics influencing the future landscape of migration into the care economy, with a focus on workers in the long-term care sector. Regional and national experiences will be shared – exploring strategic approaches, methodological solutions and emerging good practices.

Agenda

• Keynote address – Shahra Razavi, Director, ILO PROTECTION Department
• Discussant – Flaviana Teodosiu, Team Leader Long-Term Care, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• Discussant – Rebecca Napier-Moore, Technical Officer, ILO Thailand
• Open Q&A

Interpretation will be available in French and English.

The event is organised in collaboration with the ITC-ILO and supported by the Fair Recruitment Forward project, funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Key documents

• Care in Motion - Infographic.pdf (642.83 KB)