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

Author(s):  
Yoan Molinero-Gerbeau ◽  
Ana López-Sala ◽  
Monica Șerban

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.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1062
Author(s):  
Yoan Molinero-Gerbeau ◽  
Ana López-Sala ◽  
Monica Șerban

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Grega Strban ◽  
Sara Bagari

There have always been people who cannot take care of their daily needs and are reliant on care. However, due to higher life expectancy and low birth rates, changes in lifestyle and increased mobility, reliance on long-term care is becoming a general risk in life. Therefore, it must be provided with social protection. In this respect, the criteria for shaping the (new) social risk of reliance on long-term care are also fulfilled. Although different benefits are already provided within different parts of the social security system, the paper discusses that the best option is to define reliance on long-term care as an independent social risk. Furthermore, we must ensure that providing long-term care will not turn out to be a double social risk. The issue has to be addressed at the national and at the EU level.


Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Agashev ◽  
◽  
Sergey G. Trifonov ◽  
Kristine V. Trifonova ◽  
◽  
...  

The article assesses the EU legal system as a unique institutional unit and highlights its features. It deals with the comparative legal aspects of the regulation of the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU. Attention is paid to the study of legislation on social welfare for migrant workers in the EU, as well as the possibility of realizing the experi-ence accumulated within the EAEU. It is emphasized that the use of comparative models con-cerning the social welfare of migrant workers in the EU and the EAEU can be productive, taking into account the analysis of the state and dynamics of the EU's legal policy in its historical development. The authors have analyzed the historical stages reflecting the difference within the EU approaches to the regulation of social welfare relations for migrant workers. The emphasis is on the role of EU administrative institutions, which provide a balancing approach to the key principles and social policy settings, due to the desire to eliminate distortions and possible conflicts between the norms of states. At the same time, EU members have the competence within the existing common standards of financial security obligations to expand the estab-lished standards and this makes the EU's social policy geographically differentiated. It is noted that the allied states, formed on trade and economic grounds, such as the EU and the EAEU, are characterized by an objective desire for a single legal space, with the uni-fication of approaches on the social welfare of migrant workers throughout the Union. Never-theless, in complex interstate unions, it is impossible to abandon the principle of multi-level regulation of social and security relations, and in this sense, the situation in the EU and the EAEU is quite similar. The current state of EU law in terms of regulating the relations under consideration largely preserves national legal regimes, and each of them, through its special legal means, determines a different amount of social rights of migrant workers. In the context of the EAEU, a similar approach should not be considered productive, since it does not contribute to the goals of this interstate association, defined by Article 4 of the Treaty on its creation. Therefore, within the framework of the EAEU, it is advisable to fix as early as possible the uniform standards in the area of social welfare of migrant workers, estab-lishing a relatively narrow range of powers of the member states of the Union.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toake Endoh

Since the 1990s, the Japanese state has tried to balance easing immigration for some categories of immigrants while tightening restrictions for others through immigration and alien residence control. Using qualitative and data-driven analysis, this paper examines the political implications of Japan’s recent policy of accepting less-skilled migrant workers by providing a systemic explanation of the institutional changes in immigration management. The state uses alien residence control in order to curb the social costs of immigrant integration while pursuing a selective worker acceptance policy. Despite the policy shift, it seems likely that Japan will maintain this essentially illiberal means of temporary labor inclusion with long-term social exclusion.


2016 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 33-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinem Kavak

AbstractThis article examines how the labor market in seasonal migrant work in agriculture in Turkey has changed with the influx of refugees from Syria. Based on both qualitative and quantitative fieldwork in ten provinces of Turkey, the article discusses precarity in seasonal migrant work in agriculture and the impact of the entry of refugees on this labor market. The analysis of precariousness of both Turkish-citizen migrant workers and refugees suggests that precarity is a relational phenomenon. The multifaceted vulnerabilities of groups in the lower echelons of the labor market resonate with one another and the adverse incorporation of vulnerable groups into the labor market pushes the market in a more insecure and informal direction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 707-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Davidson ◽  
Richard Saull

This article examines the contradictory relationship between neoliberalism and the politics of the far-right. It seeks to identify and explain the divergence of the ‘economic’ and the social/cultural spheres under neoliberalism (notably in articulations of race and class and the ‘politics of whiteness’) and how such developments play out in the politics of the contemporary far-right. We also seek to examine the degree to which the politics of the far-right pose problems for the consolidation and long-term stabilization of neoliberalism, through acting as a populist source of pressure on the conservative-right and tapping into sources of alienation amongst déclassé social layers. Finally, we locate the politics of the far-right within the broader atrophying of political representation and accountability of the neoliberal era with respect to the institutional and legal organization of neoliberalism at the international level, as most obviously highlighted in the ongoing crisis of the EU and Eurozone.


Subject Lower global oil prices contributing to new tensions in both oil-producing and oil-importing countries. Significance Rapid population growth in most Arab countries has resulted in a youth bulge and higher unemployment. Oil producers face an extended period of low global prices, forcing them to cut costs. However, reduced subsidies on basic services risk breaching the social contract by which these governments maintain stability with limited representation. Net energy importers, while benefiting from lower fuel costs, are also struggling to compensate for declining remittances and to create new job opportunities as migrant workers return from the cash-strapped Gulf. Impacts Long-term unemployment and economic crises will increase the flow of migrants to Europe. Fragmentation and ungoverned spaces in Yemen and elsewhere will provide more space for jihadi groups to operate. US withdrawal could give Russia opportunities to expand its regional influence.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Michał Kubiak

The subject of this article is the question of the social consequences of economic migration. Migrant workers contribute to growth and development in theircountries but in the long term perspective mass migrations of citizens abroad may causeserious social crisis. Migrations are a serious threat to family policy, employment policy andsocial security of citizens. Migration strategy the state should find a solution which on the onehand will make use of the gains offered by the free movement of persons on the other handwill stop the negative social effects of migration.


2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292090499
Author(s):  
Roman Hlatky

Why do voters in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) vote for Euroskeptic political parties? Existing explanations of Euroskepticism suggest that those benefiting economically due to the European Union (EU) are less likely to be Euroskeptic. These approaches fail to take into account the social purpose of EU economic transfers. I argue that the minority advancement realized through EU funding drives voters toward Euroskeptic electoral options. I provide evidence of this relationship through two methods: a large-N statistical analysis and a survey experiment. The large-N analysis employs time-series, regional data from ten CEE member states. The survey experiment tests the hypothesis with a nationally representative sample of the Slovak population. Results from both methods corroborate the hypothesized relationship. Importantly, results suggest that reactionary voters may undermine the long-term institutional goals of the EU due to the short-term consequences of EU policies.


Author(s):  
Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın

Eurocrisis can be considered the most remarkable challenge to the EU since it was founded by the inner six countries. There is no doubt Eurocrisis has a structural effect on Eurozone countries especially Greece. However, the social and political consequences of Eurocrisis are the most ignored dimension of crisis. In order to understand the long term effect of Eurocrisis and its implication on the EU multi-level governance, a brief analysis of social and political effects of Eurocrisis is crucial. That's why this chapter will analyze how Eurocrisis affected the political atmosphere of Greece and Greek people's daily life.


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