Susan Braedley, Carleton University

Framed around the right to access quality care and provide quality work, this symposium presented by an international team of researchers explores strategies used in Canada, Norway and Sweden to address the crisis in the long-term care labour force. The papers are based on an open-access book in press, supplemented by key informant interviews – currently underway – with people from government, unions and employer organizations. The team has identified five kinds of strategies used to varying degrees in the three countries; reduce, reorganize, replace, recruit and retain. Arguing that the conditions of work are the conditions of care and that retention must be a core concern, the papers analyse the extent to which each strategy contributes to the right to care. The conclusion, which we propose as an alternative to a discussant, proposes ways to rethink approaches to the labour force crisis in long-term care approaches that make gender a critical concern.

Papers:

• Reduce – Gudmund Ågotnes, Norway
• Reorganize and recruit – Susan Braedley, Canada
• Replace – Rebecka Strandell, Sweden
• Retain – Christine Streeter, Canada

Discussant:
Marta Szebehely, Sweden