Defeating ‘modern slavery’, reducing exploitation? The organisational and regulatory challenge

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-96
Author(s):  
Alex Balch
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Short History ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
The Third ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Market Enforcement ◽  
Regulatory Challenge

This chapter first charts the short history from the early anti-trafficking strategy put in place by the Labour government in 2007 through the changes and reorganisations of the subsequent 10 years, including the launch of the modern slavery strategy in 2015 under then Home Secretary May. While focusing on the impacts felt by workers in the UK, it also takes into account the position adopted by the UK in relation to international frameworks. The second section then focuses on the importance and potential impact of the creation of the most recent governance and enforcement structures — for example, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement and the evolution of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA). As of May 2017, the GLA was rebranded as the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and has new powers to investigate serious exploitation across the whole UK labour market. The third section asks how we can best assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the modern slavery agenda.

scholarly journals Asylum Seekers and the Labour Market: Spaces of Discomfort and Hostility

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Waite
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Hostile Environments ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Policy Shifts ◽  
Recent Policy

This article examines the relationship in the UK between asylum-seeking and the labour market. Since 2002, asylum-seekers have not been allowed to work unless they have waited over twelve months for an initial decision on their asylum claim. This policy change occurred as employment was considered a ‘pull factor’ encouraging unfounded asylum claims. Despite not having the right to work, asylum-seekers – and especially those whose applications for refugee status have been refused by the UK government – interact with the labour market in manifold ways. Drawing on an ESRC-funded study in the UK's Yorkshire and Humber region and related studies, this article argues that both asylum-seekers and refused asylum-seekers form a hyper-exploitable pool of ‘illegalised’ and unprotected workers. As a vital part of their survival terrain, work is largely experienced as for-cash labouring in low-paid labour market sectors where the spectre of exploitation and even ‘modern slavery’ are perpetual threats. Recent policy shifts are deepening such threats through creating increasingly ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘hostile’ environments for certain categories of migrants.

scholarly journals The Economics of the “Third Way”

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-689
Author(s):  
PHILIP ARESTIS ◽  
MALCOLM SAWYER
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
The Third ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
The Uk

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to outline the type of economic analysis which we perceive to be involved in the ideas on the ‘third way’. In the UK, the emergence and then election of “new Labour” has been closely associated with the development of the notion of the “third way”. We sketch out what we see as the analysis of a market economy which underpins the ideas of the “third way”, which is followed by some remarks on the role of the State which is also involved. We seek to illustrate our analysis by reference to the policy statements of the new Labour government in the UK.

scholarly journals Fighting or fuelling forced labour? The Modern Slavery Act 2015, irregular migrants and the vulnerabilising role of the UK’s hostile environment

2020 ◽  
pp. 026101832090431
Author(s):  
Stuart N. Hodkinson ◽  
Hannah Lewis ◽  
Louise Waite ◽  
Peter Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Hostile Environment ◽  
International Policy ◽  
State Action ◽  
Irregular Migrants ◽  
Labour Exploitation ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
The Uk

Abolishing ‘modern slavery’ has now achieved international policy consensus. The most recent UK initiative – the 2015 Modern Slavery Act (MSA) – includes amongst other aspects tougher prison sentencing for perpetrators and the creation of an independent anti-slavery commissioner to oversee its implementation. However, drawing on research into forced labour among people seeking asylum in England, this article argues that when considered alongside the UK government’s deliberate creation of a ‘hostile environment’ towards migrants, not least in the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016, state action to outlaw modern slavery is flawed, counter-productive and disingenuous. We show how the MSA focuses only on the immediate act of coercion between ‘victim’ and ‘criminal’, ignoring how the hostile state vulnerabilises migrants in ways that compel their entry into and continued entrapment within severe labour exploitation.

Should Australia be Embracing the Modern Slavery Model of Regulation?

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Landau ◽  
Shelley Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Corporate Accountability ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
The Third ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Worker Exploitation ◽  
Human Rights Due Diligence

Australia is following in the footsteps of the UK and US and embracing the discourse and regulatory technologies associated with modern slavery regulation. This paper offers a critical perspective on this development. It begins with a brief account of the concept's rise to prominence, and discusses the political economy in which it is embedded. It then explores some of the advantages, as well as the pitfalls, associated with the frame, and its associated regulatory approaches, techniques and discourse. The authors raise three broad sets of concerns. The first goes to the danger of exclusively focusing on criminal justice responses to penalise and deter those who practice modern slavery while neglecting other approaches that may help address the causes of the phenomenon. The second set of concerns goes to the tendency to exaggerate the transformative potential of one of the dominant regulatory responses in this area: the mandatory corporate supply chain reporting provision. The third set of concerns relate to the implications of addressing issues of worker exploitation and mistreatment through a modern slavery and human trafficking approach rather than through other well established and newer regulatory means. To support the third argument, the authors compare the modern slavery approach with two alternate approaches: labour regulation and human rights due diligence. The authors emphasise the need for vigilance to ensure that the embracement of a modern slavery frame does not shift attention (and resources) away from more thorough and effective means of securing greater corporate accountability for labour standards in supply chains.

scholarly journals Background of the Theory of Three Stages of the Migration Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
L. Rybakovskiy
Keyword(s):  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Migration Process ◽  
The Third ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
The Creation ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Uk

The evolution of views on the migration of the population as a single whole, representing not only the territorial movement, but also including the necessary actions and actions preceding this resettlement and its completion is cosidered. The emergence of these views, transformed into a theory of the three stages of the migration process, refers to the last decades of the nineteenth century. They were voiced almost simultaneously in the UK and in Russia. The revival of the theory of the three stages of the migration process under Soviet conditions dates back to the 60s of the 20th century. At first, the development of migration thought went on its own in three directions. The study of migration flows, their geography, structure, and methods of measurement was carried out most extensively. The next direction in the study of population migration is associated with the rapid development in those years of sociological theory, which found its refraction in the migration sphere, which allowed the creation of a theory of migratory behavior at the junction of the 1960s and 1970s. The third direction of the formation of the theory of the three stages of the migration process was research on the survival of new settlers in places of introduction and the associated creation there of a permanent population. The combination of research results in these three areas made it possible to formulate the main theses of the theory of the three stages of the migration process. The article shows that the migration process consists of three parts, one of which precedes the act of resettlement, the second represents the actual migration of the population and the third occurs immediately after the completion of the act of resettlement in places where migrants migrate. Mobility, migration itself, as well as adaptation, are all consistently linked stages of a single process. The contribution of Russian scientists to the creation of this theory and the differences that are encountered in contemporary literature in the interpretation of individual stages of the migration process are shown in the work.

The Modern Slavery Agenda

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Child Labour ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Labour Exploitation ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Servitude ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
Sexual Trafficking

Modern slavery, in the form of labour exploitation, domestic servitude, sexual trafficking, child labour and cannabis farming, is still growing in the UK and industrialised countries, despite the introduction of laws to try to stem it. This hugely topical book is the first to assess the legislation critically, using evidence from across the field, and to offer strategies for improvement in policy and practice. The book argues that, contrary to its claims to be ‘world-leading’, the Modern Slavery Act is inconsistent, inadequate and punitive, and that the UK government, through its labour market and immigration policies, is actually creating the conditions for slavery to be promoted.

scholarly journals Economic Migration of Eastern Europeans in the UK after the UK Referendum Held in 2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 05011
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kotýnková
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Economic Migration ◽  
The Uk

The economic status of Eastern European migrants has become a major issue in the UK, as it was one of the main arguments for leaving the European Union in the 2016 Referendum. The negative view on migrants from Eastern Europe in the UK relies on the fact that these migrants are a major burden for the British social and healthcare system. At the same time, however, the issue of modern slavery is discussed, based on the fact that Eastern Europeans in the UK are willing to work under undignified working conditions. The aim of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the economic status of Eastern Europeans on the UK labour market. The paper is based on the theoretical concept of the dual labour market, which is used in the analysis of real data. The dataset used was prepared by the UK Office for National Statistics (GB): As the conclusion, the expected changes in migration of the Eastern Europeans after the UK’s leaving the European Union, currently scheduled for 31 November 2020, are given.

Ethnicity and Child Poverty under New Labour: A Research Review

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viet-Hai Phung
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Research Review ◽  
White People ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
The Uk

This review article explores the evidence on child poverty rates amongst different ethnic groups in the UK. The Labour Government aims to end child poverty by 2020. Its strategy rests on improving employability, making work pay and expanding childcare provision. But child poverty rates among ethnic minorities are higher than among white people, which suggests that policies to reduce these have been ineffectual. The factors underlying this differential include labour market disadvantage, insensitive mainstream services and the language barriers that may cause low take-up of services, benefits and tax credits. The article concludes by suggesting a number of policy strategies that government could take to reduce the levels of child poverty amongst ethnic minorities.

Forced migration and psychosocial health: meaning-making through autobiographical narratives in the UK

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Psoinos
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Psychosocial Health ◽  
Autobiographical Narratives ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Autobiographical Narrative

This paper explores how refugees in the UK perceive the relation between their experience of migration and their psychosocial health. Autobiographical narrative interviews were carried out with fifteen refugees residing in the UK. The findings reveal a contrast between the negative stereotypes concerning refugees’ psychosocial health and the participants’ own perceptions. Two of the three emerging narratives suggest a more balanced view of refugees’ psychosocial health, since- in contrast to the stereotypes- most participants did not perceive this through the lens of ‘vulnerability’. The third narrative revealed that a hostile social context can negatively shape refugees’ perceptions of their psychosocial health. This runs counter to the stereotype of refugees as being exclusively responsible for their ‘passiveness’ and therefore for the problems they face. 

Native Americans and the Third World Strike at UC Berkeley

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-39
Author(s):  
LaNada War Jack
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Third World ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Third World ◽  
The University

The author reflects on her personal experience as a Native American at UC Berkeley in the 1960s as well as on her activism and important leadership roles in the 1969 Third World Liberation Front student strike, which had as its goal the creation of an interdisciplinary Third World College at the university.

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