(Claudia Schneider, Deb Holman and Alex Collis; Anglia Ruskin University)

Transcription

1 A8/A2 citizens perceptions and experiences of participation in the UK and the influence of trans-nationalism on perceptions regarding participation (DRAFT; not to be referenced without the permission of the authors) (Claudia Schneider, Deb Holman and Alex Collis; Anglia Ruskin University) Abstract This paper explores A8/A2 migrants perceptions and experiences of social and economic participation in the UK and analyses how transnationalism shapes these perceptions and experiences. The discussion is based on data collected over a two year period as part of an ongoing mixed-method longitudinal study of migrant workers in the East of England ( ) 1. The paper highlights that (actual and perceived) agency regarding migrants social and economic participation needs to be understood in the context of the perception of the wider environment (both in countries of origin and the host country) and in the context of their transnational experience. The paper shows that in the context of A8/A2 migration transnationalism skewed the perceptions and views of the wider environment and individual participation in the UK to the positive. Introduction This paper draws on data from a mixed method longitudinal study designed to inform a regional development agency about: factors influencing decisions to comes to the UK and on length of stay, the barriers to full participation in the region (economically and socially), changes in decision making over time, and the role of public policy in relation to A8 and A2 European migrants living and working in the East of England. Here we focus not only on social and economic participation per se, but perceptions of the overall social and economic environment and how these link to the perceptions and experiences of participants and the extent to which these are seen as limiting or enhancing participation 2. In the final section, we examine transnational impacts on participants wider perceptions of macro economic and social environments in countries of origin (COO) and the UK and how this relates to perceptions of individual economic and social participation in the UK. In particular, we aim to tease out how transnationalism influences 1 East of England Development Agency (EEDA): A Longitudinal Study of Migrant Workers in the East of England, (Dr D Holman and Dr C Schneider) - contract ref: With thanks to EEDA and the European Social Fund. 2 In that respect, we are interested in structure and agency and the link between both, whereby the emphasis lies upon agents perceptions of their surrounding structures (rather than an objective analysis of these structures). The structure-agency link is only initially developed for this short version of a draft paper.

2 perceptions of (individuals ) closer and wider environments, a relatively neglected area in studies of transnationalism. Economic participation Although this section will look separately at migrants economic participation it needs to be emphasised that economic participation is closely interwoven with social, political and cultural participation. 3 In general participants have a positive view regarding their economic participation in the UK and it is a major factor (beside social and personal factors) for coming to and staying in the UK. This corresponds generally with a relatively positive view of the overall economic situation in the UK. The following section will briefly discuss key features of economic participation in the context of employment participation (such as skills levels of employment, barriers and aspirations) and financial participation (such as investment in property and/or businesses and remittances) before highlighting the relationship to participants perceptions of the wider economic situation in the UK. With regard to employment participation the majority of participants (67%) experienced downgrading (especially during the arrival phase) reflecting similar findings of other studies (see Cook et al. 2008, Glossop and Shaheen 2009; Schneider and Holman 2005, Scullion et al. 2009). 4 Although some migrants accepted downgrading (after the arrival phase) and traded it off with other social and/or personal factors, the study highlights the determination of a large number of migrants to move out of underemployment and into higher skilled jobs. Many of those who had arrived in the medium or long term were looking actively at improving their employment positions (i.e. with regard to status and/or pay), often taking up further training and education (while they were in full time employment). The move from lower to higher skilled employment reflects participants high aspirations and a strong active agency to use opportunities and to enhance their education and careers (in the context of an absence of explicit 3 Economic participation will refer to employment participation (quality, barriers and aspirations), and financial participation e.g. investment in property and/or businesses, remittances). As mentioned above economic participation will also be looked at in the context of participants perception of the wider economic situation in their country of origin and the UK. 4 This reflects a bias in the sample for the second year survey in so far as participants who had a success story to tell were more likely to continue than those who were affected by loss of employment and/or other social and personal factors; interviewees in the second year represented more mixed experiences including some who experienced redundancy and job insecurity.

3 policies to facilitate or encourage the move out of low skilled jobs). 5 Although opportunities were recognised participants also identified barriers to (full) economic participation including non-recognition of skills, insufficient language skills, discrimination and lack of promotion and/or career development. Although barriers in the UK were highlighted by participants they did not place too much emphasis on these constraints which may be explained by a variety of factors (such as increasing knowledge regarding support services, coping strategies and especially transnationalism - which will be elaborated in the final section of this paper). It is argued that the fairly positive view of the economic situation in the UK by participants influences participants positive views regarding their actual or potential opportunities and their agency impact in the context of economic participation. 45% felt that the economic situation in the UK was positive emphasising employment opportunities and financial advantages which the economy offered - 24% negative and 31% indicating it was neither good nor bad (unchanged from year one findings). It is suggested that the general perception of a flexible economy which offers potentially a wide range of opportunities partly explains why participants seem to play down their negative experiences regarding economic participation and focus on strategies to make use of (actual/potential) opportunities (e.g. via recognition of qualifications and/or improvement of skills and qualifications). In that respect the positive perception of the general economic environment (with regard to agency opportunities and in the context of very positive perceptions of the social situation in the UK) makes EU citizens from A8/A2 countries strong active shapers (Archer 2000) regarding their economic participation in the UK. 6 Considering that the study was carried out during the economic recession it was surprising that participants did not seem to be too concerned about the worsening of the economic situation in the UK and the potentially negative impact it could have on their individual economic participation. The next section outlines how transnationalism might have skewed their perception to the positive. Although the general economic situation was not viewed in a negative way the 5 This study and other studies by Schneider and Holman have highlighted since 2005 the need to develop policies to reduce the downgrading of migrants; however, no clear policies have been developed yet although the reduction of downgrading would be beneficial in economic and social terms. 6 Due to the different regulations relating to A8 and A2 migrants, A8 migrants are limited less in their agency.

4 decreased value of the pound concerned some migrants (especially those who sent remittances home and/or were planning to invest in their home country in form of property and/or business). 7 Regarding financial investments in the UK several interviewees considered a purchase of a house/flat in the medium term (compared to last year s findings when the purchase of property in the UK was generally considered a long term goal); and a number of interviewees had purchased a house/flat in the UK in the last year. Again there was a strong sense that the overall financial possibilities (especially regarding mortgages) were good in the UK; strengthened again by the factor of transnationalism, as will be outlined in the final section. Social Participation 8 Issues of social participation both in the UK and in countries of origin have emerged as a key consideration for our participants. The focus of this section is on perceptions of the general social situation in the UK and their impact on participants individual social participation. 9 This section will first of all look at participants social participation in the UK before the final section links their views and experiences with their transnational experience. A high proportion of participants viewed the social situation in the UK as either positive (61%) or very positive (7%). Moreover, for 80% of respondents who had extended their stays in the UK beyond their original plans this was due to their appraisal of the social situation as either positive or very positive. The ability to live a normal life here, relatively free from economic or social constraints and with a wider range of choices and opportunities, has remained a key consideration for participants. For some this has meant a better work-life balance, for others the freedom to adopt a particular lifestyle in a more tolerant and inclusive society While remittances are often an important factor for other studies on transnationalism and economic participation, it was less relevant for our study. 8 For the purposes of this paper, social participation is understood in the loose sense of the interactions involved in everyday living. 9 Compared with just 5% of respondents who saw the social situation here as negative or very negative. 10 For example, one interviewee talked about the restrictive nature of Polish society which meant that if she had stayed at home she would, as a Catholic, have been unable to live with her partner while unmarried.

5 While we have observed evidence of continued barriers and constraints regarding social participation, such as language difficulties, a lasting feeling of homesickness or simply a lack of free time, many of our participants report significant improvements in their social participation. A greater familiarity with life in the UK ( knowing the ropes ) was widely reported as a positive factor. Further, when asked to describe their best experience in the UK over the previous year most talked about non-economic factors: a growing sense of community, feeling more accepted, making new friends, forming new relationships, or simply watching their children grow up. On arrival, many participants relied heavily on close-knit, informal networks of family and friends to provide emotional support and protection against initial feelings of homesickness and cultural shock as well as practical assistance with employment or housing. However, while these networks develop and diversify with length of stay they are not often extended to include friendships with British nationals. Whilst there are a small number of relationships with English partners reported, on the whole, few of our participants are socialising extensively with locals who are often described as polite but distant. Nevertheless, whilst this may be a matter of regret for some, it does not appear to be perceived as a major barrier to social participation per se. To sum up, the large majority of participants had a positive or very positive view of the wider social situation in the UK and perceived the UK as a tolerant and open society with many opportunities. 11 Although they identified barriers and constraints regarding social participation, overall participants highlighted the positive which will be discussed in the context of their transnational experience in the next section. 11 Although society in general was viewed as being tolerant the negative representation of A8/A2 migrants in the media was identified by participants as having a shortening effect on their length of stay.

6 Transnationalism 12 and its impact on social and economic participation This section looks at transnational living and highlights the strong impact of perceptions of the wider social and economic environments in countries of origins on (perceptions) of the closer and wider context of social and economic participation in the UK (Schneider and Holman, 2009; 2010). 13 Our study reflects the new migrant transnationalism which is characterised by advances in the technology of contact and speed and intensity of communication between home and away ; however, findings also highlight that engagement in transnationalism varies amongst migrants (see Vartovec 2009: 15-17). We found that most interviewees continue to travel home at regular intervals and maintain contact with family and friends in COO 14. Communication with family members and close friends tends to be regular and facilitated by SKYPE and phone calls, MSN, Facebook, s and texting and ranges from daily contact to an average of two or three times each week. Reciprocal visits to the UK were rare for our participants: only two had received visits from family members in the preceding year with one visit turning into a permanent stay. There is a clear difference between perceptions regarding the wider social environment in countries of origin and the UK. Both in year one and year two nearly half of the questionnaire respondents viewed the social situation in their home country as negative or very negative compared with around 80% who perceived the social situation in the UK as being positive or very positive. On a more local/community level many compare 12 Steven Vertovec s (1999:1) defines transnationalism as follows: To the extent that any single -ism might arguably exist, most social scientists working at the field may agree that transnationalism broadly refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states. Although around a fifth of survey participants considered migrating (or had experienced migration) to third countries this paper will discuss transnationalism in the bilateral context of country of origin and the UK. 13 Our findings highlights that the impact of transnationalism regarding (perceptions) of social and economic participation in the UK differs with regard to factors such as the migration phase (arrival, settlement, permanent stay) (see Klvanova 2009), migration motivation (see Eade et al. 2006; categories of hamsters, storks, searchers and stayers) and migrants characteristics such as skills and language levels (see Bruff 2007). [to be explored in full paper]. 14 From 38 interviewees, whilst 9 had not returned to visit home countries in the preceding year, 18 had visited more than twice and six once; two had said they had gone back loads up to ten visits in one case, and one returnee had visited the UK twice since leaving the previous year (to a lesser extent, 15 interviewees had visited third countries for holidays, work and visits to friends and family with most interviewees preferring to visit different parts of the region and the UK more generally).

7 the social situation in the UK favourably with the social situation at home ; for example, in year one several interviewees mentioned a general unfriendliness and lack of community feeling at home which they often attributed to the negative economic and political climate. In that way the negative perception of social participation (in terms of interactions with the surrounding community) in COO appears to correspond with a wider picture of a society which restricts rather than enables agency and diversity. In contrast, the wider social situation in the UK and participants closer (actual or imagined ) social participation within their local area/community is portrayed in a very positive light and identified as one of the main reasons participants would like to stay longer in the UK. 15 Social networks (an important indicator for social participation) do not fit as easily into the (generalised) positive/negative dichotomy regarding social environment and participation in COO and the UK, as discussed in the next section. The interviews and the survey showed that multiple transnational relationships existed whereby the majority of participants had friends in their home country (88%), followed by having friends in the East of England (69%) and in a third country (31%); only 23% had friends in other regions of the UK. However, when looking at the strengths of these relationships, the ranking shows that 61% of participants claimed their strongest links were in the East of England followed by 53% who indicated strongest links in their COO. The fact that only 10% had strongest links in a third country confirms the qualitative findings that bilateral transnational links were most important, although the links might be better described as transregional links as the main contacts were between regions of origin and the East of England region. Our research also highlights how transnational social networks (relating especially to family but also to friendships) can both facilitate and constrain migrants agency 15 I like the area where I live, I have settled, I have good social contacts where the most influential subjective factors on length of stay. 16 Examining people s transnational networks and participants ranking of relationships demonstrates that relatively few individuals conduct meaningful relationships across more than two countries. Bilateral relationships between the UK and COO characterises the majority of interviewees mode of transnational living, although a small number of participants younger, childless, multi-lingual, entrepreneurial chart friendship and work-based networks across different countries. However, multi-lateral transnational relationships were seldom described as meaningful by participants who generally ranked these relationships as of secondary importance and comprised of weak ties, compared to bilateral transnational relationships which were ranked of primary importance and comprised of strong ties (Granovetter, 1983). 17 Classifying our data in cohorts of 1 early arrivals, 2 mid-term arrivals and 3 late arrivals, suggests that over time transnational relationships may become more complex and multi-lateral (although this requires further elucidation and a broader evidence base).

8 (Klvanova 2009). Although social factors rank very strongly in participants justification of a longer stay in the UK, the findings show that barriers, tensions and dilemmas exist for most participants (depending on migration phase, skills and language background, family connections etc.). 18 However, the transnational factor - of viewing situations in relative terms - seems to soften views regarding barriers, tensions and dilemmas regarding social participation in the UK. With regard to economic participation our study confirmed findings from other studies that decisions to live and work abroad are often initially prompted by migrants negative assessments of the economies of sending countries, and their disadvantaged position within labour markets at home (Fihel and Kaczmarczyk 2009; Barrell et al. 2010). 19 The recession impacted all Accession countries although countries such as Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were especially affected. Besides the economic recession participants highlighted the following constraints which existed in countries of origin with regard to economic participation: unemployment, difficulties of securing mortgages, lack of part-time employment, low wage levels, discrimination at work (with regard to age and gender) and an incompatibility between university education and (part-time) employment. It is therefore not surprising that respondents expressed negative views regarding the overall economic situation in their respective home countries with 53% ranking it as negative or very negative and only 12% as positive (32% selected neither good nor bad). Indeed, participants perceptions of the economic situation in home countries is more negative in the second year than in the first year of the study where perceptions of home country economies were ranked at 41% negative/very negative and 22% positive. In relative terms the negative perception of home countries (regarding the wider economy but also individual participation) outlined above has a positive impact on 18 However, it is important to stress that these tensions are not uniformly experienced (Eade et al 2006, Bruff 2007, Klvanova 2009, Schneider and Holman 2009 and 2010). Focusing particularly on COO conditions, study participants from Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia usually planning a long-term or permanent stay - report much stronger push factors culminating in a sense of alienation from the home country - and incubated well before a decision (often perceived as the only option) to migrate is made. For many interviewees in this position, whilst social networks are maintained with friends and family in the COO, return visits are not a feature of network activity and greater emphasis is put on starting a new life. 19 Although some countries such as Poland are economically improving several of the accession countries have experienced consistently low levels of GDP and high unemployment rates which appear to have resulted in high levels of out-migration. Especially young people in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania have been disproportionately affected by the negative economic trends (Thaut 2009, Horváth 2008).

9 participants perceptions of the wider economic situation in the UK (despite the recession) and of their economic participation in the UK. Conclusion Drawing on data from an ongoing longitudinal research project commissioned by a regional development agency, this paper has examined how transnationalism infuses perceptions of social and economic participation in the UK. The social situation in the UK is viewed increasingly positively by the study s participants and there appears to be a correspondence between this and an increasingly negative view of the social situation in COO. There is a less dramatic correspondence between the views of the economic situation in the UK and COO (lending further credence to the argument that decisions to migrate are multilayered and not solely economically driven). To what extent the apparent strong influence of bilateral transnational factors is a particular feature of A8/A2 migration experiences could be usefully explored in a future comparative study with other migrant groups - in the context of living together. References Archer, M (2000) Being Human: The Problem of Agency, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Barrell, R., Fitzgerald, J. And Riley, R. (2010) EU Enlargement and Migration: Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts, Journal of Common Market Studies 48(2): Bruff I. (2007) Migrants Are Not Variables: a Critique of the Migration literature and Associated Policy Developments, Migration Online Cook, J., Dwyer, P. and Waite, L. (2008) New Migrant Communities in Leeds. Leeds: Leeds City Council Eade, J., Drinkwater, S. and Garapich, M.P. (2006) Class and Ethnicity: Polish Migrants in London (ESRC Research Report). University of Surrey, Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism Fihel, A. and Kaczmarczyk, P. (2009) Migration: A Threat or a Chance? Recent Migration of Poles and its Impact of the Polish Labour Market in Burrell, K. (ed.) Polish Migration to the UK in the New European Union. Farnham: Ashgate Glossop C and Shaheen F (2009) Accession to Recession: A8 Migration in Bristol and Hull, London: Centre for Cities

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