Why so many African care workers in the UK? (Notes and References)
Salama people!
Here are the notes from my video entitled “Why so many African care workers in the UK?”:
As the UK population ages, the demand for staff to look after these elders keep growing
In this video we'll see that Black people make up a significant chunk of this growing workforce
And we’ll also look at how care work is driving big increases in immigration to the UK from Africa, and reflect on what this tells us about the state of several African countries
1 in 6 staff in Adult Social Care are Black
Half of the Adult Social Care work force in London are Black
Black staff make up 1 in 5 of direct care roles
This is the second highest chunk of such staff, after white staff who make up around 70-75% of direct care staff
These roles are the lowest paying roles
Most such staff are employed by independent providers which pay lower than local authority
But in both cases, these average salaries are only slightly above the national living wage
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
This leads us on the economics of adult social care and to the question - why are there so many Africans working in this sector?
Economics of Care Work
Tough job, heavy lifting, often long and very unsociable hours, emotionally draining, etc
Low pay + tough working conditions = Brits not interested
Vacancies have been on an upward trajectory for over a decade
Foreign foreign workers have long made up a big chunk
These low salaries can be very lucrative for people who are able to keep their living costs right down and who can then send money as part of the so-called Black Tax
Brexit seems to have exacerbated things with a big spike in vacancies since the UK actually left the EU
Post-pandemic big jump in incoming Skilled Worker Visas
Work visas granted to main applicants between 2010 and 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2023/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-to-work
Most of these have come from South Asia and West and East Africa
‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas granted in 2023, broken down by occupation and nationality’ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2023/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-to-work
In 2022-23, enough African care workers to fill the Emirates arrived!
This is apt when you consider how popular Arsenal FC is in Africa and how they connect with the continent with their new Panafrican inspired away kit and the Visit Rwanda sponsorship of the team shirt
Not many Rwandan care workers here though
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/12/2024/africans-fix-uk-brexit-elderly-care-crisis
Spiralling Economic crises back home
Nigeria
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Mostly in lowest paid roles
Claims of Exploitation of Care workers
e.g. Employers making promises about working conditions, salary, accommodation, etc - but when people get here, they find it’s all lies
Africans have been known to sell their houses back home to come to the UK to become care workers!
And when they get here, they find themselves working super-long hours for a pittance
In some cases they pay £000s in order get Visas, and then the employer tells them they need to pay that money back
When they complain, they are threatened with being reported to the home office if they leave
And on top of that, there’s the Black Tax factor
Visa Changes
Meanwhile, the UK is going to ban Care workers from bringing their dependents in after a huge spike in numbers of dependents coming in
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-cut-migration-and-tackle-care-worker-visa-abuse
Conclusion: Windrush Parallels
Large numbers of African and Asian people being invited to the UK
Coming to fill acute recruitment gaps
Natives can’t/won’t fill enough of these roles
Similar push factors (high levels of poverty back home)
Roles are health-related
Living in deprived areas
Their presence is a political football, driving the political agenda around immigration
The more things change, the more things remain the same
At some point, we need to get our home countries back on track so that we are no longer attracted to these low paying roles
Thanks for this insight. This does feel like the start of windrush again, but with the hot politics of immigration thrown into the mix. I wonder if people coming over feel that it’s worth it in the longer term in comparison to the state of the country they are leaving. This was the case, or the attraction, for my parents leaving Jamaica in the sixties. It also feels like care workers should be unionised to ensure better worker rights.