scholarly journals Spaces of Solidarity and Spaces of Exception: Migration and Membership During Pandemic Times

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Anna Triandafyllidou
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Processing Chain ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Temporary Migrants

AbstractThis chapter starts by introducing the policy and political context of the Covid-19 crisis, surveying some of the changes it brought to immigration policies in different countries: border closures for non-citizens; disruption for temporary migrants; and special arrangements for essential (migrant) workers like doctors and nurses or farmworkers to ensure emergency wards are staffed and the food processing chain is not disrupted. The chapter critically reviews these changes and discusses the main analytical and policy questions which the book addresses. It investigates how the pandemic forces us to rethink notions like membership, citizenship, belonging, but also solidarity, community, essential services or ‘essential’ workers. Migrants expose tensions and contradictions within these concepts and values. Citizens (who may carry the virus) cannot be banned from return to the homeland as they travel internationally or domestically; by contrast, temporary migrants or asylum seekers may be locked in their dormitories because of an outbreak in their midst to prevent spread and protect the citizens. This chapter shows that the specific tensions of the global pandemic for migration are linked to the more long-term tensions of globalisation, migration, and the nation-state, suggesting that the pandemic is but a magnifying lens. The chapter concludes with an overview of the book’s contents.

scholarly journals Shattered Dreams: Bangladeshi Migrant Workers during a Global Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-132
Author(s):  
Ridhi Sahai ◽  
Vaiddehi Bansal ◽  
Muhammad Jalal Uddin Sikder ◽  
Kareem Kysia ◽  
Sharon Shen
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Policies And Programs

Overseas labor migration (OLR) is currently one of the most important contributors to Bangladesh’s economy and is a highly profitable form of labor for Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries. Despite the high rate of migration between these countries, the OLR sector remains complex and often leaves migrants susceptible to human trafficking, forced labor, and modern slavery. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed migrant workers to additional adverse situations, increasing their vulnerability to forced labor and COVID-19 related health risks. This rapid assessment addresses critical questions about the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic on Bangladesh’s OLR industry. Findings from this assessment will inform migrant rights protection policies and programs.

scholarly journals Behavioral medicine challenges in the shadow of a global pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa T Brooks ◽  
Hannah K Allen ◽  
Louise Thornton ◽  
Tracy Trevorrow
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Future Data ◽  
Short And Long Term

Abstract Health behavior researchers should refocus and retool as it becomes increasingly clear that the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic surpass the direct effects of COVID-19 and include unique, drastic, and ubiquitous consequences for health behavior. The circumstances of the pandemic have created a natural experiment, allowing researchers focusing on a wide range of health behaviors and populations with the opportunity to use previously collected and future data to study: (a) changes in health behavior prepandemic and postpandemic, (b) health behavior prevalence and needs amidst the pandemic, and (c) the effects of the pandemic on short- and long-term health behavior. Our field is particularly challenged as we attempt to consider biopsychosocial, political, and environmental factors that affect health and health behavior. These realities, while daunting, should call us to action to refocus and retool our research, prevention, and intervention efforts

scholarly journals Are asylum seekers more likely to work with more inclusive labor market access regulations?

2019 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Slotwinski ◽  
Alois Stutzer ◽  
Roman Uhlig
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Market Access ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Early Integration ◽  
Labor Market Policies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Labor Market Access ◽  
The One

Abstract In the face of recent refugee migration, early integration of asylum seekers into the labor market has been proposed as an important mechanism for easing their economic and social lot in the short as well as in the long term. However, little is known about the policies that foster or hamper their participation in the labor market, in particular during the important initial period of their stay in the host country. In order to evaluate whether inclusive labor market policies increase the labor market participation of asylum seekers, we exploit the variation in asylum policies in Swiss cantons to which asylum seekers are as good as randomly allocated. During our study period from 2011 to 2014, the employment rate among asylum seekers varied between 0 and 30.2% across cantons. Our results indicate that labor market access regulations are responsible for a substantial proportion of these differences, in which an inclusive regime increases participation by 11 percentage points. The marginal effects are larger for asylum seekers who speak a language that is linguistically close to the one in their host canton. Summary Inclusive labor market access regulations substantially increase the employment chances of asylum seekers, in particular if the language distance is short.

scholarly journals Migrant Labour during the Pandemic: A Political Economy Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 001946622110212
Author(s):  
Deepak K. Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Capitalist Development ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Cheap Labour ◽  
The One

This article aims to analyse the plight of the migrant workers in India during the Covid 19 pandemic from a political economy perspective. While taking note of the disruptions and uncertainties during the drastic lockdown that was announced suddenly, it is argued that the vulnerabilities of the migrant labour force are deeply embedded in the long-term changes in the political economy of development in India. These changes, on the one hand, have resulted in the gradual weakening of state support to the working classes, and on the other, have resulted in the normalisation of ‘cheap labour’ as a legitimate objective of neoliberal capitalist development. Locating the conditions of the migrant working class on the specificities of the manifold restructuring of the Indian economy under neoliberal globalisation, the study attempts to emphasise the structural dimensions of the current crisis faced by the migrant labourers. JEL Codes: J46, J61, O15, O17, P16

scholarly journals COVID-19 related mortality in post-operative cardiac surgical patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azhar Hussain ◽  
Amina Khalil ◽  
Priyanka Kolvekar ◽  
Prity Gupta ◽  
Shyamsunder Kolvekar
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Long Term Outcomes ◽  
Case Presentation ◽  
Elective Cardiac Surgery ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Cardiac Operations ◽  
Related Mortality

Abstract Background COVID-19 has caused a global pandemic of unprecedented proportions. Elective cardiac surgery has been universally postponed with only urgent and emergency cardiac operations being performed. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom introduced national measures to conserve intensive care beds and significantly limit elective activity shortly after lockdown. Case presentation We report two cases of early post-operative mortality secondary to COVID-19 infection immediately prior to the implementation of these widespread measures. Conclusion The role of cardiac surgery in the presence of COVID-19 is still very unpredictable and further studies on both short term and long term outcomes are warranted.

scholarly journals On the Social Sustainability of Industrial Agriculture Dependent on Migrant Workers. Romanian Workers in Spain’s Seasonal Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1062
Author(s):  
Yoan Molinero-Gerbeau ◽  
Ana López-Sala ◽  
Monica Șerban
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Industrial Agriculture ◽  
Temporary Migration ◽  
Agricultural Work ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Migrant Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Migration Program ◽  
The Eu

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Romanian migrants have become one of the most significant national groups doing agricultural work in Spain, initially coming via a temporary migration program and later under several different modalities. However, despite their critical importance for the functioning of Europe’s largest agro-industry, the study of this long-term circular mobility is still underdeveloped in migration and agriculture literature. Thanks to extensive fieldwork carried out in the provinces of Huelva and Lleida in Spain and in the counties of Teleorman and Buzău in Romania, this paper has two main objectives: first, to identify some of the most common forms of mobility of these migrants; and second, to discuss whether this industrial agriculture, hugely dependent on migrant work, is socially sustainable. The case of Romanian migrants in Spanish agriculture will serve to show how a critical sector for the EU and for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, operates on an unsustainable model based on precariousness and exploitation.

Language competence, identity construction and discursive boundary-making: Distancing and alignment in domestic migrant worker narratives

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (262) ◽  
pp. 97-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans J. Ladegaard
Keyword(s):  
Identity Construction ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Migrant Worker ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Boundary Making

AbstractMany people in developing countries are faced with a dilemma. If they stay at home, their children are kept in poverty with no prospects of a better future; if they become migrant workers, they will suffer long-term separation from their families. This article focuses on one of the weakest groups in the global economy: domestic migrant workers. It draws on a corpus of more than 400 narratives recorded at a church shelter in Hong Kong and among migrant worker returnees in rural Indonesia and the Philippines. In sharing sessions, migrant women share their experiences of working for abusive employers, and the article analyses how language is used to include and exclude. The women tell how their employers construct them as “incompetent” and “stupid” because they do not speak Chinese. However, faced by repression and marginalisation, the women use their superior English language skills to get back at their employers and momentarily gain the upper hand. Drawing on ideologies of language as the theoretical concept, the article provides a discourse analysis of selected excerpts focusing on language competence and identity construction.

scholarly journals Integrated photothermal decontamination device for N95 respirators

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Muñoz ◽  
Maxime Comtois-Bona ◽  
David Cortes ◽  
Cagla Eren Cimenci ◽  
Qiujiang Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Temperature Treatment ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Photothermal Treatment ◽  
Mild Temperature ◽  
N95 Respirators ◽  
Uv C

AbstractThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic has infected over 25 million people worldwide and resulted in the death of millions. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in many regions around the world, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. The shortages of PPE, such as N95 respirators, is something that will persist until an effective vaccine is made available. Thus, devices that while being easy to operate can also be rapidly deployed in health centers, and long-term residences without the need for major structural overhaul are instrumental to sustainably use N95 respirators. In this report, we present the design and validation of a decontamination device that combines UV-C & B irradiation with mild-temperature treatment. The device can decontaminate up to 20 masks in a cycle of < 30 min. The decontamination process did not damage or reduce the filtering capacity of the masks. Further, the efficacy of the device to eliminate microbes and viruses from the masks was also evaluated. The photothermal treatment of our device was capable of eradicating > 99.9999% of the bacteria and > 99.99% of the virus tested.

Inter‐ethnic and labour‐community coalitions in class struggle in Taiwan since the advent of temporary immigration

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Class Struggle ◽  
Community Coalitions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Temporary Migrants

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the class dimensions of racism in Taiwan against temporary migrant workers and migrants' efforts to build inter‐ethnic and labour‐community coalitions in struggle against racism.Design/methodology/approachAn important source of data for this study were the unstructured interview. Between September 2000 and December 2005, more than 50 temporary migrants and their support groups in Taiwan were interviewed, specifically about migrants' experiences of racism and their resistance strategies. These interviews were conducted face‐to‐face, sometimes with the assistance of translators. Between 2001 and 2007, some 70 people were interviewed by telephone, between Australia and Taiwan.FindingsIn Taiwan, temporary migrants suffer the racism of exploitation in that capital and the state “racially” categorize them as suitable only for the lowest paid and least appealing jobs. Migrants also suffer neglect by and exclusion from the labour unions. However, migrants have succeeded, on occasions, in class mobilization by building powerful inter‐ethnic ties as well as coalitions with some labor unions, local organizations and human rights lobbies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research raises implications for understanding the economic, social and political conditions which influence the emergence of inter‐ethnic bonds and labour‐community coalitions in class struggle.Practical implicationsThe research will contribute to a greater appreciation among Taiwan's labour activists of the real subordination of temporary migrant labour to capital and of the benefits of supporting migrants' mobilization efforts. These benefits can flow not only to migrants but also to the labour unions.Originality/valueA significant body of academic literature has recently emerged on temporary and illegal migrants' efforts to engage the union movements of industrialized host countries. There is a dearth, however, of academic research on the capacity of temporary migrants to invigorate union activism in Asia, including Taiwan.

The Long-Term Regulation of Safety Standards: The Case of the Electricity Industry in Australia and New Zealand

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-332
Author(s):  
Malcolm Abbott
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Electricity Industry ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Organizational Approach

Throughout much of the history of the electricity industry in Australia and New Zealand the industry has been the subject of safety regulations. Although this regulation has been a constant throughout the life of the industry the organizational approach to regulation has changed over the years. Periodically in Australia and New Zealand history these questions have been raised in a political context, although notably the structure of safety regulators does not get much attention in the standard histories of the industry. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss some of the general issues that have arisen in the reform of regulation in the case of electricity safety over the longer term and how it relates overall to the development of the electricity industry.

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