Recruiting migrant nurses to fill the gaps: the contribution of migrant women in the nursing care sector in Greece

Abstract

The study examines the complex and stratified nature of the health care profession in Greece, which is increasingly staffed and thus shaped by female migrants. The research explores how immigrant labour is drawn on to fill the most urgent needs in the lower end of the nursing care sector, how immigrant labour gains access to these jobs, the implications of the recruitment process and the effect of these factors on the local labour market structure. It is shown that a predominantly female migrant cohort provides a ready source of nursing care, both complementing and further stratifying the local labour market while also contributing to the sustainability and reinforcement of the segmented health care arena.Résumé Cet article porte sur la nature complexe et stratifiée de la profession des soins de santé en Grèce où la dotation en personnel est de plus en plus assurée, et donc façonnée, par des migrantes. L'étude analyse le recours au travail immigrant pour répondre aux besoins les plus urgents dans les échelons inférieurs du secteur des soins infirmiers; les moyens qu'emploient les immigrants pour accéder à ces emplois; les conséquences du processus de recrutement; et l'effet de ces facteurs sur la structure du marché du travail local. Les résultats indiquent qu'une cohorte principalement composée de migrantes constitue une source accessible de soins infirmiers qui vient compléter et stratifier davantage le marché du travail local, tout en contribuant à la durabilité et au renforcement du secteur segmenté des soins de santé.

The increase in illegal private duty nurses in public Greek hospitals

“…There are many nursing agencies: they advertise in newspapers and on websites, which display photographs and offer some background information of the carers. It has also been reported that agencies send representatives into hospitals to distribute cards/flyers with agency contact details for the recruitment of illegal PDNs (Groutsis 2009).…”

“…In addition, when the agencies have helped immigrants – through trafficking and with fraudulent papers – they expect repayment. Blackmail and violence have been reported if repayment is ever defaulted upon (Groutsis 2009).…”

“…They made inside investigations and have frequently reported the use of illegal PDNs and acted against them. In one instance, in the small town of Chania, Crete, the PDN union took legal action against the Ministry of Health, complaining of the fostering of the black economy and asking for increased monitoring of the situation (Groutsis 2009).…”

Skilled migrants in the Middle East: definitions, mobility and integration

“…In addition, skilled migrants who have obtained their education and training in their home country as opposed to their host country often find themselves at a strategic disadvantage (Groutsis, 2006;Williams, 2007). This is particularly likely to occur when work practices and social norms are markedly different in both countries, causing migrants to participate in migrant networks rather than indigenous networks which creates an 'us' and 'them' division in work and everyday life (Groutsis, 2009;Harvey, 2008b).…”

“…In the last two decades there has been a steady growth of research on skilled migrants in multiple regions at different points in time (see Al Ariss and Özbilgin, 2010;Beaverstock, 2002Beaverstock, , 2005Groutsis, 2009;Harvey, 2011aHarvey, , 2011bIredale, 2001;Koser and Salt, 1997;Ley, 2010;Richardson and McKenna, 2003;Saxenian, 2006;Yeoh and Willis, 2005). This research has focused on a range of topics, including but not limited to: immigration, return migration, brain drain, brain waste, brain circulation, government immigration policy, integration, finding work, expatriate and impatriate assignments, social networks and gender inequality.…”