The Diversity and Politics of Trade Unions' Responses to Minority Ethnic and Migrant Workers: The Context of the UK

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Martínez Lucio ◽  
Robert Perrett
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Organizing migrant workers

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Holgate
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Uk ◽  
White Workers ◽  
Minority Ethnic

The structural position of black and minority ethnic workers (BME) and migrant workers in the UK labour market is relatively well known. Many workers in these groups find themselves in low-paid, low-skilled jobs primarily because of their ethnicity and regardless of their skills. This racialization of the labour market has been well documented - particularly since the ‘large-scale’ BME immigration in the post-war period. What is less well known is what it is like to work in these increasingly segmented sections of the economy where white workers have abandoned jobs in favour of (slightly) more lucrative work. Adopting a case-study approach, this article follows a trade union’s attempt to organize a sandwich factory of 500 workers, where most of the workforce was made up of BME migrant workers.

Meanings and dilemmas in community unionism

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Martínez Lucio ◽  
Robert Perrett
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The State ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Community Unionism ◽  
Minority Ethnic

The article shows that community initiatives take different forms and are the outcome of a broader interplay of factors between workers’ interests, representation, and the strategies of unions and broader coalitions that are mobilized in specific communities. Drawing from three case studies on black and minority ethnic (BME) workers and trade unions in the UK the article looks at how the rhetoric of community unionism has been adopted in an uneven manner by trade unions: the article suggests that: (a) community initiatives are variable, (b) they lack a structure and clear vision, (c) the question of BME engagement is rarely central in many projects, and (d) the ambivalent role of the state is a significant factor in many of these initiatives. This state role is downplayed in much of the literature, thus raising dilemmas in terms of community initiatives.

Ethnic Differences in Self-Poisoning Across South London

Crisis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-272
Author(s):  
Sean Cross ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra ◽  
Paul I. Dargan ◽  
David M. Wood ◽  
Shaun L. Greene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
White Women ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Managing Risk ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Incident Cases ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Background: Self-poisoning (overdose) is the commonest form of self-harm cases presenting to acute secondary care services in the UK, where there has been limited investigation of self-harm in black and minority ethnic communities. London has the UK’s most ethnically diverse areas but presents challenges in resident-based data collection due to the large number of hospitals. Aims: To investigate the rates and characteristics of self-poisoning presentations in two central London boroughs. Method: All incident cases of self-poisoning presentations of residents of Lambeth and Southwark were identified over a 12-month period through comprehensive acute and mental health trust data collection systems at multiple hospitals. Analysis was done using STATA 12.1. Results: A rate of 121.4/100,000 was recorded across a population of more than half a million residents. Women exceeded men in all measured ethnic groups. Black women presented 1.5 times more than white women. Gender ratios within ethnicities were marked. Among those aged younger than 24 years, black women were almost 7 times more likely to present than black men were. Conclusion: Self-poisoning is the commonest form of self-harm presentation to UK hospitals but population-based rates are rare. These results have implications for formulating and managing risk in clinical services for both minority ethnic women and men.

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.

Lone Mothers, Ethnicity and Welfare Dynamics

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINA MOKHTAR ◽  
LUCINDA PLATT
Keyword(s):  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Welfare Dependency ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
Lone Parents ◽  
Lone Mothers ◽  
Minority Ethnic Groups ◽  
Policy Concern ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Ethnic

AbstractThis article investigates the ethnic patterning of exit from means-tested benefits in a UK town. Lone parents in the UK face high risks of poverty and high rates of receipt of means-tested, out-of-work benefits. There has been extensive policy concern with lone parents' poverty and with potential ‘welfare dependency’. Investigation of welfare dynamics has unpacked the notion of welfare dependency, and has stimulated policy to better understand the factors associated with longer rather than shorter durations. However, within this analysis, there has been little attention paid to ethnicity. This is despite the fact that the extensive literature on the UK's minority ethnic groups has emphasised diversity in both rates of lone parenthood and risks of poverty. To date we have little understanding of ethnic variation in lone parents' welfare dynamics. Using a data set drawn from administrative records, this article analyses the chances of leaving means-tested benefit for a set of lone mothers in a single town, exploring whether there is variation by ethnic group. We find that, controlling for basic demographic characteristics, there is little evidence to suggest that ethnicity affects the chances of benefit exit, even between groups where rates of lone parenthood are very different.

scholarly journals Work and the Diaspora: Locating Irish Workers in the British Labour Market

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrietta O'Connor ◽  
John Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Qualitative Change ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
The Past ◽  
British Labour ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk

Irish migrant workers still make a significant contribution to the UK labour force, but this contribution is confined to particular occupation and industry groups. This paper begins with a brief review of the literature on Irish workers employment and an argument is developed that the work of Irish-born people in Britain is still both racialised and gendered. Then, using data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the work experiences of over one thousand Irish-born people in the UK are explored. The findings suggest that Irish-born men and women still work in the stereotyped occupations of the past. For example, most women work in public administration and health while twenty six per cent of men work in construction. The majority of Irish-born men work in manual skilled or unskilled jobs. The paper concludes that there has been no real qualitative change in the way that Irish-born workers experience employment in the UK.

Identity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zanib Rasool
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Writing Group ◽  
Sociocultural Practices ◽  
Parallel Lives ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Ethnic

This chapter focuses on the identities of British Muslim young women from a writing group, and shares some of the themes that emerged during these writing sessions. Three specific themes related to identity came out of the girls' writing group: place and globalisation; religion; and language. In the UK, there is an increased focus on social cohesion and integration. Young people from minority ethnic communities experience a great deal of pressure in order to fit in with the national narrative of ‘Britishness’, and often feel that they should conform outwardly in their dress and physical appearance, and adopt British sociocultural practices. Those individuals who maintain their faith, language, and cultural identity are seen as segregating themselves and living parallel lives.

Is there a black and minority ethnic third sector in the UK?

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Black Community ◽  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Immigrant Community ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Community Organisations ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Can the BME third sector be considered a distinctive sector in its own right? Contributing towards building a foundation of knowledge on the black minority ethnic (BME) third sector, this chapter offers an introductory resource on research in this field. The paper begins with discussion on the contested concept of a BME third sector (BME TS) and its 'distinctiveness' from the wider third sector. It highlights the importance of robust comparative analyses to identify the differences between subsectors, in order to examine the policy implications for these different organisations. The chapter provides brief overviews of material about different types of organisation that might constitute the BME TS. These include: refugee and asylum seeker organisations (RCOs), faith based organisations, diasporic immigrant community organisations, and Black community organisations. In closing, the paper identifies gaps in the current research base that will be of interest to the wider research community.

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