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Global Care Chains and the Legal/Social Rights of Migrant Workers: an Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Discrimination, Industrial Relations, and Transnational Welfare Regimes

  • Agata Ludera-Ruszel
  • Hubert Kotarski

Care work has become a significant; yet still largely undervalued component of global employment. It is situated at the meeting point of gender; migration; and precarity; despite having only partial recognition in labor law and industrial relations. This article argues that care work is a litmus test for the effectiveness of legal frameworks in securing social rights in a globalized economy. It takes a interdisciplinary approach; combining labor law analysis with sociological insight into global care chains; discrimination; and collective action. The article's arguments are advanced through three comparative studies (Poland and Germany; Philippines and Middle East and Romanian/Ukraine and Italy/Spain); each highlighting a different transnational corridor and offering contrasting legal/sociological dynamics. The Poland–Germany corridor demonstrates the ambiguities of European Union mobility; where Polish carers in Germany often oscillate between self-employment; posting regimes; and agency work with fragmented access to social rights. The Romania/Ukraine–Italy/Spain corridor illustrates the informalization of care in Southern Europe; where regularization campaigns and migrant associations signal both exclusion and emergent possibilities for representation. By combining these contexts; the article exposes the lack of structural equality between formal labor rights and their real potential in international care industries. It ends by requesting a reformation of the labor law and social insurance regimes- through the acceptance of the ILO Convention No. 189; with the aim to recognize the value of care as work that is essential; and guarantees the rights of those who perform it.

  • Keywords:
  • care work,
  • global care chains,
  • social rights,
  • labour rights,
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Agata Ludera-Ruszel

University of Rzeszow, Poland - ORCID: 0000-0003-4433-5884

Hubert Kotarski

University of Rzeszow, Poland - ORCID: 0000-0002-5370-7099

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  • Publication Year: 2026
  • Pages: 45-80
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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  • Publication Year: 2026
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Global Care Chains and the Legal/Social Rights of Migrant Workers: an Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Discrimination, Industrial Relations, and Transnational Welfare Regimes

Authors

Agata Ludera-Ruszel, Hubert Kotarski

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-1029-4.05

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2026

Copyright Information

© 2026 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

CARE4CARE - We Care for Those Who Care - Vol. III

Book Subtitle

Building Dignified Care Work in Europe: Critical Reflections, Policy Proposals and Practical Tools

Editors

Maria Luisa Vallauri, William Chiaromonte

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

408

Publication Year

2026

Copyright Information

© 2026 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-1029-4

ISBN Print

979-12-215-1028-7

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-1029-4

eISBN (epub)

979-12-215-1030-0

Series Title

Studi sul lavoro di cura - Studies on Care Work

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