Migrant workers at the intersection of variable vulnerabilities Beyond the Gig Economy, 25 th November 2016 University of Melbourne Martina Boese Sociology, Department of Social Inquiry, School of Humanities and Social Sciences latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M
Outline of today s presentation 1. Migrant workers in insecure work: who are we talking about? 2. How can we explain migrants labour market positions? 3. Precarious migrant status of temporary migrant workers 2
I. Migrant workers: who are we talking about? The "United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families" defines migrant worker as : a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national. 3
I. Sources of vulnerability and patterns of insecurity Sources of vulnerability - Limited language skills - limited familiarity with regulations and rights - Financial pressures (fex. costs of migration; cost of parallel households) - Recognition of skills and qualifications - discrimination based on race, ethnicity - Income differentials between country of departure and destination country Patterns of insecurity at work Disproportionate representation of migrant workers in occupations and/or sectors with one or more of the following characteristics - Low pay - High employment insecurity - High job mobility - High degree of shift work - Lacking or scarce opportunities of upward mobility and career development - Prevalence of informal employment / poor regulation or law enforcement 4
II. Theoretical approaches to explaining the labour market positions of migrant workers Neoclassical economic: focus on human capital attributes (English language skills, age, education,..) Political economy analyses: focus on macro-economic factors such as industry restructuring and employer demand that lead unskilled migrant workers into secondary labour market segment (insecure, low paid, without career pathways) Intersectional analyses: focus on processes of exclusion, discrimination and stereotyping that push minoritized and racialized migrant workers into less desirable jobs (f.ex. aged care, low skilled hospitality) Precarious migrant status: focus on the role of migration regulations in rendering employment situations precarious (in combination with industry practices) 5
III. Precarious migrant status (Goldring et al 2007, 2009) and institutionalised uncertainty (Anderson 2010) legal production of discrimination and exclusion through one or more of the following (Goldring et al 2007; 2009): A lack of work authorization; A lacking right to remain permanently in the country (PR); Dependency on a third party for one s right to remain in the country; Lack of access to public goods available to permanent residents (such as public education; public health, benefits; subsidised childcare); Lacking right to sponsor family members within policy parameters available to citizens and permanent residents. construction of institutionalised uncertainty (which helps) produce precarious workers over whom employers and labour users have particular mechanisms of control (Anderson 2010) 6
In conclusion.. - Need for interdisciplinary analyses that combine the rigour of industry case studies with a sociological analysis of intersections of race, ethnicity and gender - Need for analysing migrant employment experiences in the context of migration regulation https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=oip.mf7c31fd48376adb00885c 6ed9c637e9do0&w=300&h=207&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0 http://homecareassistancecarmel.co m/in-home-elder-care/live-in-care/ 7