- Soraya Agirre is a member of the Association of Migrated Feminist Caregivers of the Basque Country. He works for hours caring for the elderly, but 90% of the association are residents living in the home of the elderly they care for. When she comes home from work, at 21:00, she explains her fights going on to get hire and dignify working conditions. She gives her dinner to her daughter, and that's when she starts her militant work every night.
Present your association: who are you and what unite you?
We are now about 250 members and we are organised to deal with the problems we have. We have a plural origin, among us there are people from Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Puerto Rico… There are also some from the African continent and some of those who migrated from the Spanish state, from Andalusia. By residence, most of us are in Bizkaia, and we also have members in Gipuzkoa and Álava.
At the press conference you held on 3 March, “housing now, for social justice!” What injustice do they experience when renting a home?
90% of our members are resident caregivers. The rest of us do surveillance tasks per hour. Being a resident means spending one night in that house taking care of older people, sometimes they work 24 hours in a row -- and when they have hours of rest, they want to have a room outside that house, but they have a very hard time getting it.
"Whoever rents us a room charges us in many cases for registration"
First of all, through the real estate it is almost impossible to rent: they ask for payrolls and advance money in bonds... In the rent private people are charged too much money for a room: 400 euros. And when you rent them a room, they often don't let them be registered in it, and it's known that one of the first things they ask us to legalize our paper situation is that they've been registered for three years. The offer made by other owners is as follows: “I will charge you to register with him and you will not live in that house.” And others charge two things: 300 euros per room and 120 euros for registration, every month!
Working hard, resting, sending money to the family that's in your home country, and if we have children here taking care of them -- it's very difficult. Being a resident is almost impossible to have children.
We are attentive, we have talked with the City Council of Bilbao, with Caritas… We have received the answer from Caritas and we look for a flat for rent in the name of the association and that those who need it most can live. On this floor it will also be important to take care of the coexistence, here we are without family and a way to support us will be to live in apartments.
What are your job demands?
Attempts are being made to abolish resident work. The work of residents is slavery, from 14 to 24 hours a day. My dream would be that everyone had 8 hours of work, that caring for the elderly was also a normal job. It is difficult to achieve, but I think it is not impossible. We will have to keep fighting, but I have the hope that our great-grandchildren will see.
"Resident work must be abolished and domestic work must be separated from care"
On the other hand, domestic work is often confused with care. This is another of our struggles: residents work two at the same time. We must define why it is paid, for care or for household tasks. Both works are very different. Most of our members are undergoing socio-sanitary training: their scarce free time is dedicated to this, to having the degree of elderly care. In that we are specializing, caring is a hard job that is valued. We work with people, those we care for are not things.
What working conditions are you in?
Among our members, some have no contract. Others don't have hours off. According to the law, they have three hours a day of bookkeeping and 36 hours of bookkeeping on weekends. Some of our colleagues say that on Saturdays they leave work around 13:00 and that on Sunday they have to return at the same time. The law is often not complied with. You need to rest to take care of people. We too have our lives, we cannot live alone to work.
And yet, people keep their jobs, fearing that if they quit that job, they will be accepted by another. And because they have to help the family out, because they have children, because they're indebted ...
Feminism has been claiming the slavery of resident work for years. Is society becoming more and more aware of the crisis?
"One of those employers who doesn't want to hire the caregiver is a Deputy Employee!"
Some of our members are satisfied, feel well treated and charge what they legally deserve. But there are other members who pay very little, who do not hire them... imagine that the owner of one of those members who do not want to hire is an employee of the Council!
There is everything, many employers are aware and want to improve our situation and many others do not want to give decent treatment.
The elders I took care of also said to me, “Soraya, how are you? Also in our time, we go out in the street for our rights. We have lived the same thing.”
How does foreign law influence their working conditions?
"It is three long years that you have to survive without papers and that is why you accept working conditions that would not otherwise be accepted"
Women who are without papers are afraid, because the message they receive is “because you don’t have paper, you can’t work, they can report you.” When you get papers, more doors open to you: you can hire and get another job. There are three long years to survive without papers. And those in that situation accept the first offer they receive, under working conditions that they would not otherwise accept. The minimum wage is EUR 1,200 and from EUR 700 people work all day without social security.
After these three years there is also great bureaucracy. Getting a date is very difficult since COVID-19. Dating is doing business.
Working so many hours, how do you organize and fight?
In summer, we were meeting in Miribilla Square on Sundays. We were talking to each other, about each other's situation, trying to help someone who had a problem with each other, and we were adding people we knew. That's how it grew and grew to 250.
We have a general group of whatsapps and we have several working groups: housing, profession, standard … Now that the meeting in the plaza is cold and most are residents, we make video calls.
On 8 March we will leave together in the street, but throughout the year and day to day, the elderly women we need care, other daughters of seniors who have gone through care and other people who subcontract for those tasks… All women, but in very different positions. Are there contradictions? How can we help?
There are contradictions. I'm going to make it clear: if you don't get to care for your parents and you have to hire me, the first thing I do is a good deal. Don't look over me, look over. If we are treated well, we feel good and we will do our job warmly. Second, if you cannot afford me what you legally owe, tell me. Tell me, and we'll reach consensus during the hours, or maybe you can take some of the jobs -- this is helping each other: you help me and I support you. I need money to meet the expenses, and you need so much for me to take care of your father. On 8 March and the rest of the days, we help each other.
What is good aging for you? How would you like it to be cared for when you send?
"When I get older, I skip for a walk and don't get isolated."
Take good care, go for a walk and don't isolate me so I feel good. I like to dance, therefore, to get me to dance. I'm joyful and I'd like to be joyful in aging, and be cared for in good mood, because there are diseases for the scared. In my old age I imagine well, but with pain, if it hurts, imagine yourself as you get older...