"Increasing demand for long-term care (LTC) is a critical issue for the European Union (EU). According to the European Care Strategy, currently around 6 million people work in LTC in the EU. The value attached to independent living and ›aging in place‹ approaches have contributed to the provision of home care becoming preferred over residential care. Consequently, the provision of home care and personal services is a growing segment of the labour market. Conditions applying to care workers continue to be characterised by low pay, precarious working arrangements and limited development opportunities, however. Despite the increased attention devoted to the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, these conditions have not significantly improved, and the societal contribution made by care work remains undervalued. The European Institute for Gender Equality (2021) estimates that about 3 out of 4 paid care workers are women, with one in four having a migrant background. A high level of informality prevails in the sector. According to the European Labour Authority (2022), about half of care workers in domestic settings are undeclared workers. Funding models re lying on poorly regulated use of cash transfers can encourage the employment of workers under informal contractual arrangements. Government policies aimed at addressing quality care pro vision have failed to ensure decent working conditions. The general decline in the provision of public services has gone hand in hand with increased privatisation of care services and a growing dominance of market actors in the sector. Care is labour-intensive, and the nature of the work is not conducive to productivity-enhancing technologies. New challenges are emerging – notably digital labour platforms connecting workers and clients in need of care. For unions, organising workers in the sector has always been challenging, given the invisible nature of work performed in private homes. It is evident that in the digitalised, post pandemic world of work a new approach to organising workers is required. The precarity of employment is on the rise for care workers, who are taking on additional forms of responsibility in coordinating their work, while having inadequate access to sickness benefits or social protection. A substantial part of the European labour force is engaged in platform work. While it is hoped that the Platform Work Directive will address issues such as bogus self-employment, its impact is yet to be seen. Recruiting and organising care workers in trade unions helps them cope with the many challenges they face in the effort to attain quality employment, ensuring their rights are satisfied, and strengthens the voice of care workers. Unions need to find new ways to boost their visibility and interact with platform workers. A change in policy is needed to support well-funded, directly provided public services. In the absence of such, however, an expansion of collective bargaining in the sector is needed to address differences in standards between providers and ensure quality jobs that are positive for both workers and those in need of care. This research outlines different approaches unions can take to address employment conditions in the care sector, including specific action in relation to platform work, to ensure workers have a voice. It discusses options for unions in recruiting and organising care workers as well as strategies at the political level. The report concludes with observations and issues for further discussion."

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