Trade Unions, Immigration, and Migrant Workers

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Judith Roosblad ◽  
Stefania Marino ◽  
Rinus Penninx
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions

Trade Unions and the Welfare of Rural-Urban Migrant Workers in China

ILR Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 001979392110044
Author(s):  
Alison Booth ◽  
Richard Freeman ◽  
Xin Meng ◽  
Jilu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Monthly Income ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Urban Migrant

Using a panel survey, the authors investigate how the welfare of rural-urban migrant workers in China is affected by trade union presence at the workplace. Controlling for individual fixed effects, they find the following. Relative to workers from workplaces without union presence or with inactive unions, both union-covered non-members and union members in workplaces with active unions earn higher monthly income, are more likely to have a written contract, be covered by social insurances, receive fringe benefits, express work-related grievances through official channels, feel more satisfied with their lives, and are less likely to have mental health problems.

scholarly journals Trade Unions, Migrant Workers, and Racial Discrimination in Italy in Times of Economic Crisis

Two Homelands ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Della Puppa
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Trade unions have a crucial role in the social integration processes of migrants. Nevertheless, some aspects of this relationship are still relatively unexplored, particularly that of the relationship between trade unions and racism and that of the trade unions’ fight against racial discrimination. This paper aims to investigate the still partially unexplored link between Italian trade unions and racial discrimination within the framework of the 2008 economic crisis. Through the narratives of stakeholders, trade unions, and migrant workers, the author provides an in-depth look at the efforts of Italian trade unions to fight discrimination and examines the main barriers that prevent migrants from being involved in unions.

Grassroots struggles to protect occupational and environmental health

2019 ◽  
pp. 189-210
Author(s):  
Kathy Jenkins ◽  
Sara Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Downward Pressure ◽  
The Face ◽  
Changing Patterns

This chapter is based on a number of international case studies of grassroots occupational and environmental health struggles that are attempting to link workplace, environment and community. Interviews with key people involved in each struggle, in combination with documented campaigns and our own experience as occupational and environmental health activists, have provided a picture of the changing patterns of work under neoliberalism, and the implications for community and workers’ struggle for environmental justice and occupational health. Themes include the erosion of the distinction between work and community and between the workplace and the environment; the increasing casualisation and precarity of work; downward pressure on working conditions; repression of trade unions and decline in union membership; deregulation of work, safety and environmental protection; and particular risks faced by women, young and migrant workers. Union and community organisers are employing diverse tactics in the face of these challenges.

Cross-border labour markets and the role of trade unions in representing migrant workers’ interests

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-255
Author(s):  
Adrien Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Labour Migration ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Survey Results

New patterns of labour migration are reshaping labour markets and raising new challenges for labour market actors, especially trade unions. This article critically discusses unionization strategies targeting migrant workers and the political and organizational dilemmas involved, taking as an example the case of Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union with a highly internationalized labour market. Relying on qualitative research and survey results, this article sets out the strategies adopted by trade unions to unionize migrant workers, before discussing the dilemmas and tensions related to the diversification of trade union policies and organizational structures in response to labour migration. It provides valuable insights into two broader issues: the socio-political and organizational dynamics involved in trade unions’ inclusion of migrant workers and the potential role of trade unions in building transnational links and cohesion in border regions.

Organizing Latin American workers in Japan

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stewart ◽  
Andy Danford ◽  
Edson Urano
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess difficulties facing the unionization of foreign workers focusing on the experience of trade unionists in Union MIE, an exemplar of what in Japan is known as a community union (sometimes described as a form of Minority union – Stewart, 2006). Union MIE is characterized by its orientation to the social and political agenda of Latin American workers, among whom Brazilians form the most numerous group. The paper also addresses the precarious nature of workers’ employment including the condition of labor. The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan. Findings The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. In addition to having relevance to the wider discussion on union decline, this paper contributes to the debate on migrant workers, their condition of labor and one form of labor organization responsive to their concerns. Research limitations/implications A comparative approach would add even more to the weight of evidence accrued in the paper. Practical implications Mainstream trade unions need to anticipate that the concerns of migrant and precarious workers will become increasingly common among their erstwhile “regularly” employed membership and so the activities of community and minority unions need to be taken on board in an organic, as opposed to an opportunistic, manner. Originality/value From unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan, the paper presents original data not typically accessible in Anglo-Saxon research tradition.

scholarly journals Borders, Labour Impacts, and Union Responses: Case of Spain

Refuge ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-40
Author(s):  
Luke Stobart
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Institutional Frameworks ◽  
Spanish Research ◽  
Employment Sectors

Spain is an acute example of severe yet permissive border control where institutional frameworks ensure that migrant labour inexpensively fills existing labour shortages and highly exploitative “niches,” while aiding a broader flexibilization strategy. Through a review of mainly Spanish research by trade union, industrial relations, and immigration specialists on three major migrant employment sectors, the article shows that impacts on employment and wage levels have been limited, despite claims to the contrary, although they have been deeper in those employment sectors with reduced legal protection and union organization. It concludes that while the Spanish case gives support to the No Borders position, it also exposes the need for greater engagement with migrant workers by the trade unions and rejects the major Spanish union federations’ recent advocacy of “controlled immigration.”

scholarly journals The Rights of Workers, Migrant Workers and Trade Unions in the Light of the European Convention on Human Rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 224-246
Author(s):  
Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labor Legislation ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right

The European Court of Human Rights (the Court, the ECHR) has made a significantcontribution to the protection of social rights in general and labor rights in particular. The articlefocuses on four specific areas that demonstrate the richness of case-law in this area. First of all, theauthor focuses on individual issues related to the general rights of workers, drawing attention to issuesof unfair dismissal, the right to respect for private and family life, freedom of religion and freedomof expression. Secondly, the author dwells on the protection of the rights of migrant workers underthe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Third, the articleexamines trade union rights in the light of freedom of association. Finally, reflecting the economiclandscape of the past decade, case-law is provided to demonstrate how austerity measures can affecthuman rights and how the Court has responded to this problematic issue.Social rights, including labor rights, have received many advantages from the fact that they wereconsidered in the case-law of the Court, since its practice clarified the boundaries and limited thestate’s unlimited discretion in the management of these rights. At the same time, a certain trend hasformed. If at first the protection of workers’ rights and freedoms sharply increased, which is confirmedby some textbook cases of the ECHR, now it is impossible not to notice a regressive trend that isassociated with labor legislation, expands the discretion of governments and significantly limits theeffectiveness of the Court when considering labor rights. However, this regressive trend should notbe regarded as irreversible. The article highlights how meaningful consideration of soft law principlesallows the Court to take a progressive position that promotes labor rights and how it can continueto help protect workers’ rights.

scholarly journals United against precarious working conditions? Explaining the role of trade unions in improving migrants’ working conditions in the British and German meat-processing industries

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Johanna Kuhlmann ◽  
Colette S. Vogeler
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Meat Processing ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Causal Pathways

Abstract The literature has described trade unions’ positions towards both precarious workers and migrant workers as ambivalent. By studying an extreme case, the meat-processing industries in the United Kingdom and in Germany, we show how trade unions were decisive in both countries in bringing exploitative working conditions on the political agenda and in advancing policy change. However, the strategies through which trade unions contributed to this differed remarkably, highlighting different causal pathways in both countries. The British case can clearly be seen as an example of successful union revitalisation by relying on innovative strategies. In contrast, the German story exhibits a strong reliance on a more traditional approach to improving workers’ rights, which was only successful after employers were willing to improve working conditions in the sector as well. Our analysis shows that policy change can happen despite unfavourable conditions and weak actors, especially if these actors make strategic use of situational conditions.

scholarly journals China’s Employment Contract Law: Does it deliver employment security?

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuxi Wang ◽  
Bernard Gan ◽  
Yanyuan Cheng ◽  
Lin Peng ◽  
Jiaojiao Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Employment Contracts ◽  
Employment Contract ◽  
Engagement Strategies ◽  
Professional Titles ◽  
Hiring And Firing ◽  
Privately Owned

During its transition to a market economy, structural inequalities became increasingly apparent across China’s workforce, threatening social harmony. China’s 2008 Employment Contract Law, legislated amid policy debate, was intended to remedy these phenomena. We examine a crucial element of its remit: has its promotion of continuing contracts as against fixed-term employment contracts been effective? This is crucial for improving workers’ rights through secure employment. How have employers responded to this challenge to their prerogatives in terms of hiring and firing? We analysed data from 2007 and 2012 drawn from All-China Federation of Trade Unions surveys, which cover approximately 80,000 individuals. Using institutional theory, we discuss a variety of employer responses. We find that the Employment Contract Law has increased the likelihood of signing continuing contracts among migrant workers, employees in privately owned enterprises, and those with lower professional titles and who are short-term employees – all disadvantaged labour market categories previously. It has also significantly narrowed gaps regarding access to continuing contracts between these categories and matched advantaged ones. There is also evidence that some employers seek to avoid or sidestep compliance through cost-minimising worker engagement strategies. JEL Codes: J41, J53, K31

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