Lateefat Ogunmola. Image: Steve Forrest
“I start around half past six in the morning and visit around eight clients in the morning for their medication and breakfast,” explains Thoko Sibanda, a domiciliary care assistant in Nottingham.
“As soon as that’s done, I start my lunch rounds and then I’m onto tea. On longer days, I finish around 10 at night.”
The hours are long and the work is tiring. Thoko supports people with mental health issues, dementia and Alzheimers. The job can be tough, but she says she always brings a positive attitude.
“I work with people who have different challenges. I wouldn’t expect everyone to be in a good mood all the time. I just take it as it is and always do my best, and try to make people feel better, not worse. If a client shouts at me, I won’t take that to my next client. I leave it with them.”
As with many social care workers, being shouted at by the people she provides care for is, unfortunately, a common part of the job. Nevertheless, Thoko says she always tries to stay upbeat. “It’s very hard work but I always look forward to the next day.”
However, as a migrant care worker, challenging clients are the least of her worries.
“Like lots of people in the care industry, I’m far away from home and my company sponsors my visa, which makes me feel scared to speak out sometimes.”
The social care system is heavily dependent on migrant workers. In February 2022, care work was made a ‘shortage’ occupation, allowing UK companies to recruit from abroad in order to fill chronic shortfalls in staffing.
However, care workers’ visas are sponsored by employers, which means that someone’s visa is tied to their employment status.
This gives employers a huge amount of power over migrant care workers because, if they lose their job, they can lose their right to work and live in the UK. As a result, many migrant care workers like Thoko feel silenced around their working conditions.
“It’s hard being an international carer,” she says. “But I feel good being involved in UNISON. It has boosted my confidence and I feel more protected.”
Thoko is also glad to see UNISON’s Black History Month celebrations. “I came to the UK from Zimbabwe 18 months ago. It helps me feel welcomed and feel a sense of belonging here, to feel at home.”
Black care workers are more likely to be bullied
Lateefat Ogunmola (main picture, above), a support worker providing care for adults living in three residential homes across the Wolverhampton area, shares the same perspective on the union as Thoko.
“As a Black person whose visa is sponsored by my employer, I know that whatever I say, or however I act, it can be used against me,” she says. “That’s why UNISON is very, very important.”
Research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that care workers from ethnic minority groups are more likely than their white British colleagues to experience insecure working conditions. For migrant care workers, this is compounded by the complexity of visa sponsorship.
And other research from Skills for Care shows that Black, Asian and minority ethnic social care workers face disproportionately high levels of workplace bullying and disciplinary action compared to their white counterparts.
Lateefat says: “When I moved to this country from Nigeria I heard so many stories of people being racially bullied at work. And then it ended up happening to me.”
In a previous role at a nursing home, she was unfairly singled out by her manager. It was this experience that prompted her to join UNISON. After being supported by the union, Lateefat became a steward herself.
“I’m happy I can help people like me. Black people are not the only people who face discrimination, but we do face a lot.”
Nevertheless, in her new role, Lateefat is happy. She currently works 14 hour days as a support worker for adults with disabilities.
“Some are disabled, some have autism, and I help them manage their daily activities, personal care and things like shopping. My work involves coming into someone’s home. I always want them to feel comfortable in their own home and in their own skin.
“I love it. I love taking care of people and I like to be able to help people. Every person is different, so you have to be attentive to their individual needs. If you don’t have compassion, you’re not going to last long in this work.”
‘There is so much racism and insecurity in the care sector’
Like Lateefat, Oluwaseyi Bamiseye (pictured below) is a migrant care worker, UNISON steward and a member of the union’s national social care committee.
Oluwaseyi Bamiseye, photographed by Steve Forrest
For Oluwaseyi, care work is a way of “giving back to humanity”. He adds: “I find the work rewarding. We’re making people’s lives better by supporting them to live their life as independently as possible.”
However, he agrees that this is a sector where hours are long, pay is low, and exploitation is rife. And if migrant workers complain about their working conditions, they are left vulnerable to deportation or extortion.
“I’ve heard countless stories of migrant workers being exploited by the agencies sponsoring their visas. It’s so unfair. We look after some of the most vulnerable people in our society, but, as migrant workers, we’re vulnerable too.
“A lot of people can’t even complain, because if you complain they could withdraw your sponsorship. Employers will say, ‘You have to pay us for the sponsorship, and if you don’t pay, you have to go back to your home country’. And employers can charge people £10,000. So people end up giving all of their life’s savings away. It is so wrong.
“This is why we need councils to take responsibility for migrant workers’ stability in this country. We’re giving back to the community and the country. They need to pay us, to provide stability and job security.”
Working alongside other migrant workers on sponsored visas, Oluwaseyi has played an active role in UNISON Bolton’s successful campaign, alongside other branches and the region, to get Salford City Council to adopt a migrant workers’ charter for social care.
For this reason, Oluwaseyi believes it’s critical that migrant workers join UNISON.
UNISON’s migrant worker network is an informal network of UNISON members with a first generation immigrant background, including overseas and migrant workers.
“Unions are important for every worker, but especially if you’re not white. There is so much racism and insecurity in the care sector.
“The only way that migrant workers can gain any protection is by joining a union. Within UNISON, you are supported and protected from racist bosses.”