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Dr Masimba Mavaza
Several Zimbabweans have answered a call by the British government to come and work as care givers or nurses in the UK.
And many Zimbabweans regardless of their professions have dived in the gravy train and behold what they were plunged themselves into.
Some people have worked for a number of community care agencies over the years and they say there are always the same problems which are now being magnified by the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mutumwa Madzinga, a first-time care giver in the UK, left Zimbabwe and considered herself lucky.
But when he arrived in the UK what he was promised was different from what he was now getting.
“First, of course, is the pay,” he said. “We receive between £8,70 and £10 an hour, but this is only paid when we are with a client. For the time spent driving between people’s homes, the rate is reduced to perhaps £6 or £7 an hour, or just a flat mileage rate.
“In effect, this means you don’t get paid even minimum wage, and you can work seven days a week, often 12 or 15-hour days, and bring home maybe £1 200 or £1 300 a month. Even though this looks more in Zimbabwean terms, UK is very expensive. I pay rent of £750 a month.”
Mutumwa says care workers are overworked in the UK.
“It’s not enough money to live on and I’ve known care givers who have had to hand back calls because they couldn’t afford the petrol to get there, or have had to take their children to work because they can’t afford child care,” he said.
“Care givers should be paid a set shift rate for the hours we work, but who is there fighting for us? We have just come in from Zimbabwe and those who helped us to come are too bossy and never have time to understand us.”
The other concern is on how care givers are treated.
Mary Ncube said: “My bosses once allotted me 10 minutes for a 45-minute drive. This meant I was late, so the rest of my calls were taken off me and I didn’t get paid.
“Time pressures also mean you have to prioritise when you are with the people you are meant to be helping. Often, you only have time for basic hygiene and medication before you must leave.
“The bosses, who are also Zimbabweans too, treat care givers as if they are completely expendable, with no recognition of how emotionally and physically demanding our job is. Even on our days off when we’re exhausted, the phone constantly pings, asking us to cover someone who has gone off sick.
“If you say no, you will not get a job as a punishment and the month will be a very long one.”
Tatenda Shava, who left his mine for green pastures said even the service users are not treated well.
“There are care home patients left in dirty beds and denied proper baths due to staffing crisis,” he said. “The dying aren’t dying with dignity because there’s not enough staff to sit with people in their final hours.
“People in care homes are being left in wet, dirty bed sheets and denied proper baths as the social care sector grapples with a staffing crisis. The job to be a care giver who is just coming from Zimbabwe is very challenging.”
Peter Mutoro of Luton said: “What makes this job very emotional despite our fellow Zimbabweans being the bosses in some cases is that vulnerable residents are being neglected, with some only helped to get dressed in the middle of the afternoon and others being put to bed early to free up workers.
“The desperate workforce shortages mean there are not enough staff to sit with the residents during their final hours. And if you are humane this job destroys you emotionally.”
Brian Matongo of Leicester, who was a teacher in Zimbabwe said: “I have always wanted to work in care and I love the core part of the job. But coming to the UK it all caught up with me. I became unwell with stress and exhaustion, and was signed off work.
“Now, I am stranded in the UK, I have no visa since my sponsor is refusing to assist me get another visa. I know I could never work for an agency again, and this makes me sad. I have lost my life back home and I am struggling in here.”
Jemmy Carter, a senior care giver, said: “But mainly I feel terribly let down for the families struggling to look after people alone as there aren’t enough care givers. Patients are stuck in hospitals because there is no one to help look after them at home.
“I find this awful. The social care model doesn’t work, but I don’t see any signs that it will be fixed soon. So of sponsors are refusing to give jobs to the workers they are surely contributing to the problem at hand”
Shamiso 23, of Bristol has been an unpaid care giver for her grandmother since she was a teenager.
“I first realised I was an unpaid care giver when I was 12,” she said. “My grandmum had been working as a nurse, but hurt her back and needed a lot of help to do basic things.
“I tried to sneak into school just before break one day, but a teacher caught me and asked why I was late. My mum had suggested I keep things under wraps, but eventually I ended up crying and telling the teacher what was happening.”
Maria Mutema added her thoughts: “Looking back, there are pluses and minuses of caring and coming to the UK. Undoubtedly my education has no purpose in the UK and this is one of my biggest regrets. But the money is fine and my employer kept his word.
“Yes, not all employers are bad, some are so good and they make you realise the advantage of coming to the UK. I feel so sad for those who are being ill-treated.”
A care manager who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “My nursing home employs roughly 170 people and cares for 68 residents with complex dementia needs. For those who do the actual caring, it’s a very manual job, getting people with behavioural needs washed, dressed and fed. Not everyone can do it; you can train people, but many can’t do it.
“But at the moment, I am struggling with lost workers due to the requirement for care home staff to be double vaccinated. Many of our staff don’t want the vaccine for cultural reasons, so they have had to leave. All told, over the last few months I have lost 33 staff, which is quite appalling.
“Of course, workers in the NHS don’t currently need to be vaccinated, so all my staff have gone there. My personal opinion on vaccines is neutral, but I am so angry with the Government for not having a joined-up approach and that my staff have had to leave while NHS staff can remain employed. I am now relying on care givers from Zimbabwe.
“I know some told me that their agencies are treating them badly. I am making ways of making them permanent workers and maybe take them over.”
Professor Matamba urged those coming to the UK not to repeat the mistakes of those who came earlier. He said they must continue telling their children stories about home so that they do not lose focus of where they came from.
“Stories aren’t the original experience, but they are more than nothing at all. You think about a story, you turn it over in your mind, and it becomes something else,” he said.
“Today, increasing numbers of people are living outside of their ancestral homelands. Many immigrants fear that their children will slip into their new home and lose their connection to their cultural identity. You must understand the value of stories. Do not let your children drown in the new culture you are now onto.”
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter