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Established and emerging fields of workers’ struggles in the care sector: the case of Poland

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  • Julia Kubisa

    (49605University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Rakowska

    (49605University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

This article analyses the struggles of care sector workers in recent years in Poland, mapping the activities of trade unions and initiatives undertaken by non-unionised workers in care services. It considers the institutional setting and barriers specific to Poland and analyses the constraints on industrial action in the sector by looking at different cases: nurses and midwives, early education teachers, nursery teachers and carers of persons with disabilities. All those groups have in recent years organised militant actions. Using an institutional approach and Social Reproduction Theory, the article discusses how the social understanding of care work intersects with the institutional setting during industrial action and the consequences for the workers of this intersection. It introduces the typology of established and emerging fields of workers’ struggles and a concept of ‘bargaining power penalty’ to show that disputes in the care sector are a new form of industrial dispute, featuring, over and above the tripartite worker-employer-state constellation, the relationship between caregivers and care recipients (and their families) as well as the special position of caregivers in society. Care weakens bargaining power, while at the same time it inspires new agendas of struggles.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Kubisa & Katarzyna Rakowska, 2021. "Established and emerging fields of workers’ struggles in the care sector: the case of Poland," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(3), pages 353-366, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:27:y:2021:i:3:p:353-366
    DOI: 10.1177/10242589211028097
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Heyes, Anthony, 2005. "The economics of vocation or 'why is a badly paid nurse a good nurse'?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 561-569, May.
    2. Julia Kubisa, 2016. "Gendered division of trade union protests? Strategies, activities and outcomes of union activity among miners and nurses in Poland," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 22(3), pages 331-345, August.
    3. Julie Nelson, 1999. "Of Markets And Martyrs: Is It OK To Pay Well For Care?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 43-59.
    4. Nancy Folbre, 2012. "Should Women Care Less? Intrinsic Motivation and Gender Inequality," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(4), pages 597-619, December.
    5. Julia Kubisa, 2021. "Putting Care at the Center: Women Organizing Trade Unions in the Care Sector in Poland," Societies and Political Orders in Transition, in: Katharina Bluhm & Gertrud Pickhan & Justyna Stypińska & Agnieszka Wierzcholska (ed.), Gender and Power in Eastern Europe, edition 1, pages 145-156, Springer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kurt Vandaele, 2021. "Applauded ‘nightingales’ voicing discontent. Exploring labour unrest in health and social care in Europe before and since the COVID-19 pandemic," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(3), pages 399-411, August.

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