Call for proposal - Service provider to support data collection in ILO survey and qualitative research on employment in home-based care in Lebanon

1. Background

Female migrant workers have for many years formed the backbone of the care economy in the Arab States particularly in the context of providing a broad range of home-based services related to cooking, cleaning, childcare, care of the elderly and the disabled. Demographic changes and shifts in gender and working partners in the region have brought about an increasing need for quality, accessible and affordable home-based care. In parallel, due to an increase in female labour force participation and in the absence of comprehensive, integrated social care and welfare systems, households with young children, the elderly, sick and disabled, often have had little choice but to employ a live-in migrant domestic worker to provide ongoing support.

This need to rely on migrant domestic workers for various forms of home-based care has been particularly acute in Lebanon, given a lack of policies to ensure state-provided or funded care. For example, although half (56 per cent) of the population is covered by social insurance, which is provided through the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), public-sector schemes and various mutual funds, the amount available is woefully inadequate to provide adequate health care in old age and in case of disability. In particular, even for those eligible for the NSSF (which excludes workers in the informal economy and the unemployed), there is no payment of regular, predictable monthly pensions, and instead only an end-of-service lump payment, which was already insufficient to support care in the period after retirement even before the currency devaluation. While government programs may provide free or subsidized care for those requiring acute and palliative care, most elderly health care (including management of chronic conditions) will be up to the individual (or his or her family) to finance without government subsidy. Those with financial resources may be able to access institutions which provide specialized services to older adults in Lebanon, but in many cases, families will not have such resources, or prefer not to place elderly relatives in institutional care. A similar issue in terms of a lack of government-funded and provided support exists for those living with disabilities. An estimated 15% of the population, around 900,000 individuals, live with a disability in Lebanon and yet only a fraction (around 10%) are eligible for government support.

While in both cases, home based care may include in-home nursing for more wealthy families, in all cases there will likely have been a migrant domestic worker performing indirect care including food preparation, cleaning, etc. For the vast majority of households which could not afford specialized care (whether in institutions or at home), migrant domestic workers, often with limited skills training or support, were an indispensable source of affordable labour, including in some cases in the provision of direct care including giving medicine, providing exercise, bathing, dressing, etc. A reliance on migrant domestic workers was also critical for families with young children, particularly where both parents were employed, given the expensive cost of crèches and limited maternity leave available for female workers. 

As a result of these structural needs for care workers, but limited ability to pay for skilled national workers, combined with lax migration rules, engaging migrant domestic workers was ubiquitous across socio-economic classes. Prior to 2020 domestic workers numbered more than 250,000, largely coming from Ethiopia, with significant numbers of workers from Philippines and South Asia. Such workers, who were required to be live-in, full-time workers, constituted more than 80% of work permits for migrant workers in Lebanon, though this data did not capture the full range of domestic worker relationships, as domestic workers were also employed as hourly/part-time ‘freelance’ workers or under a ‘false kafeel’.

Impact of multiple crises domestic worker employment

The COVID-19 pandemic, the financial crisis and the Beirut Port explosion have had an extraordinary impact on both domestic workers and the households that employed them, leading to many domestic workers being terminated from their jobs or deciding to leave the country. 

The number of new contracts issued to new domestic workers decreased by more than 88% from 76,739 in 2018 to just 9,409 contracts in 2020. The total number of permits (new and renewed) has also fallen from 207,757 in 2018 to 119,081 in 2020. A significant number of workers have left the country, with many more likely to leave after travel constraints ease, if they are not otherwise restricted from being repatriated due to prohibitive ticket costs, lack of identity documents or because of a judicial obstacle such as an absconding or (often malicious) theft charge. 

The government has mandated that migrant domestic workers’ contracts must now be in Lebanese lira instead of US dollars, and because of the rapid devaluation of the former, few employers will be in a position to pay a salary that would enable workers to remit a sufficient amount in US dollars to their families. Thus, while some workers may remain in Lebanon because of poverty or conflict in the country of origin, those expecting to remit money home will likely depart. 

In the absence of a comprehensive social protection system, and with a number of skilled Lebanese care workers leaving the country, there is an urgent need to better understand how the gap left by departing migrant domestic workers will be filled, in order to measure or forecast the possible risks of exploitation of vulnerable workers, whether national or non-national. Alternatively, the gap may be filled by an increased burden of unpaid care on households, particularly women in the household, which could also impact on the labour market in terms of reduced female labour force participation, or driving more women workers into the informal sector because of a need for greater work flexibility. 

2. Objectives and study methodology

The objectives of this research are to better understand how the current economic situation in Lebanon has impacted on the provision of care in households (including the impact of such factors as the decrease in the number of migrant domestic workers; ability to pay for, and accessibility to, care institutions, etc), how the situation has changed employment of workers including the types of workers (national/nonnational), the types of employment (full-time/live-in; part-time; hourly or on demand) and types of job intermediation (informal word of mouth, digital platforms, placement companies, etc) and what are the major decent work deficits. 

The specific research questions are: 

• How have the needs for home-based care work changed since early 2020 (including such factors as accessibility of institutions such as nursing/residential homes, etc)?

• What are the main characteristics of paid care work including contractual arrangements (direct employment/via intermediary); duration and type (fixed/indefinite, full-time/part-time/hourly/ondemand); working conditions and wages (including access to social security /insurance if any)?
• What types of organizing have migrant workers attempted (trade unions, cooperatives, collectives) and what were the identified challenges and opportunities? What are the success stories and best fit practices?  
• What are the implications of these changes on quality, accessibility and affordability for care recipients (particularly for specific categories incl. older/disabled persons, children, etc).

The research will comprise a scoping study based on desk research and key informant interviews, qualitative research (focus group discussions) and quantitative research (telephone household survey). 

The ILO has already engaged a lead researcher but requires assistance from a service provider to support data gathering of qualitative and quantitative data. Specifically, the duties of the service provider will be as follows: 

The lead researcher will identify participants for the focus group discussions (FGDs). The service provider will be required to:

• organize the logistics of the FGDs and contact the participants (using the contact details provided by the lead researcher) to arrange their participation;
• mobilize a qualified facilitator(s) who will attend training by the lead researcher (half day) and facilitate the FGDs based on a discussion guide provided (each FGD will be approximately 2 hours);
• mobilize a rapporteur(s)/note taker who will transcribe each FGD and send a summary (not a full transcript) in English within 2 days of each FGD (a full English transcription may be required at a later stage, if participants do not consent to an audio-recording); and
• disburse the agreed transport allowance per person (50,000 LLP per person for around 70 people total).

The following focus group discussions will be organized: 

• At least 4 focus group discussions of migrant domestic workers grouped by language, most likely English, French, Amharic and either Sinhalese or Bangla. These FGDs will take place in either/both the Migrant Community Centre(s) in Achrafieh/Dora. The service provider will need to communicate with the MCC and/or other CSOs (with support from the ILO and lead researcher) to facilitate the interpretation. 
• Between 2-5 focus group discussions of Arab domestic workers; with at least one FGD outside of Beirut (area to be discussed with ILO and the lead researcher; other locations can be in Beirut).
• At least 2 FGDs with care recipients (elderly, disabled or parents requiring childcare). The location will be determined in consultation with community organizations (such as Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union, HelpAge Lebanon, etc) and the lead researcher.

In the event of challenges to organize the required number of FGDs (or insufficient number of people expressing intention to participate), the service provide may be required to substitute an FGD for indepth interviews, which could be conducted virtually (or, if preferred, in person). 

A household telephone survey will be undertaken with approximately 2000 respondents. The sampling frame will be based on Ministry of Labour dataset on households which applied for a new work permit or work permit renewal between 2018 to 2021. The survey will be last approximately 20 minutes and be conducted in Arabic. 

ILO, in collaboration with the lead researcher already engaged, will be responsible for setting the sampling frame and generating the sample / database of contacts, as well as designing the survey questionnaire. The service provider will be required to:

• recruit surveyors/enumerators to conduct the telephone interviews in a timely manner; 
• arrange a 1 day training for the surveyors/enumerators (which will be conducted by ILO and the lead researcher in Arabic);
• support piloting of the questionnaire with 15 approximately respondents;
• conduct the telephone survey using Kobo Toolbox with approximately 2000 respondents based on the sample (phone numbers) provided by ILO, following the specific protocol covered during the training - conduct quality control on survey data on a daily basis - submit all data in SPSS and XLS.

2. Key tasks

A lead researcher has already been identified and recruited by the ILO as a consultant. The service provider will be required to coordinate with the lead researcher (and a research assistant) in order to

1. Qualitative research: organize logistics (participation, venue, transport allowance, interpretation), facilitate and transcribe the FGDs and submit to the lead research the soft copies of transcripts in English, and auto-recordings. 
2. Quantitative research: mobilize enumerators and supervisor(s), ensure training, supervise  enumerators to carry out telephone surveys; collect data. 

 The details of the activities and timeline is provided in the attached TOR. 

3. Deliverables and Payment

The service provided will be paid according to the attached payment schedule.

4. Ethical guidelines

Assent and Informed Consent 

One of the main ethical pillars of this study hinges on the voluntary participation of any research participant, within the fieldwork:

• • The participation of individuals is voluntary;
  • The research team will not resort to any form of incentive or coercion to affect the participation of any individual;
  • Individuals who initially agreed to participate in the fieldwork can withdraw from the study at any point in time without any explanation or repercussions;
  • The research team will provide participants with simple and clear information about the study in terms of commissioning entity, its purpose, voluntary participation, possibility to withdraw, and study team contact details.
  • Information and consent forms to be used for focus group discussions. 
  • Privacy and confidentiality will be maintained at all times.

5. Qualifications

The service provider must have the following experience:

• • Lead focal point with qualifications in social science, qualitative and quantitative research;
  • Demonstrated ability to mobilize facilitators, rapporteurs/transcribers and enumerators, including with relevant language skills (English/Arabic); 
  • Previous research on migrant workers in Lebanon (or other relevant research on the labour market in Lebanon);
  • Demonstrated previous experience in conducting large telephone household surveys, preferably using Kobo Toolbox or a related software; 
  • Ability to work to deadlines (including ability to produce English summaries of FGDs within 2 days of completion; and timely and effective management of quantitative data collection) to ensure compliance with agreed timelines.