Unfair Dismissal Law and Temporary Migrant Labour in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-48
Author(s):  
Joanna Howe ◽  
Laurie Berg ◽  
Bassina Farbenblum
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Legal Remedies ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Unfair Dismissal ◽  
Federal Jurisdiction

Increasing attention is being given to the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in Australia, in particular in relation to wage underpayments. But very little focus has been given to the ability of temporary migrant workers to access legal remedies under Australian employment law. This article examines whether temporary migrant workers are able to make and pursue a claim for unfair dismissal within the federal jurisdiction. As unfair dismissal law seeks to protect job security and provides an essential check on managerial prerogative, it is important that temporary migrant workers are able to access this legal avenue to protect them from arbitrary dismissal. We argue there are serious deficiencies in the application, coverage and content of federal unfair dismissal law in relation to temporary migrant workers in Australia.

Meeting Australia's Labour Needs: The Case for a New Low-Skill Work Visa

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Howe ◽  
Alexander Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
International Student ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Migration Program ◽  
Temporary Labour Migration ◽  
Skill Shortages ◽  
Skilled Migrant

This article examines whether Australia's regulatory settings for temporary migrant labour are working effectively and argues that a backdoor currently exists which permits the entry of low skilled migrant workers on visas which are not for a work purpose, namely the international student visa and the working holiday maker visa. We propose that an explicit visa pathway be created for low and semi-skilled workers so that the working conditions of these visa holders are more appropriately monitored and to enable Australia's temporary labour migration program to better meet skill shortages in the economy.

Unfair Dismissal Law and Temporary Migrant Labour in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-48
Author(s):  
Joanna Howe ◽  
Laurie Berg ◽  
Bassina Farbenblum
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Unfair Dismissal

Slicing and Dicing Work in the Australian Horticulture Industry: Labour Market Segmentation within the Temporary Migrant Workforce

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-271
Author(s):  
Joanna Howe ◽  
Alex Reilly ◽  
Stephen Clibborn ◽  
Diane van den Broek ◽  
Chris F Wright
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Migrant Labour ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Labour Market Segmentation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Precarious Jobs

This article exposes how disparity in the immigration rules of different visas combines with poor enforcement of labour standards to produce a segmented labour market in the Australian horticulture industry. We argue that the precarious work norms of the horticulture industry result in a ‘demand’ on the part of employers for harvest workers to perform precarious jobs. Such demand has been met by the workers supplied through different segments of temporary migrant labour who may be a particularly attractive form of precarious labour because of the conditionalities they experience as a result of their visa class. Our analysis demonstrates that not only do growers make preferences between local and temporary migrant workers, but they also make preferences between different types of temporary migrant workers. In identifying segmentation between temporary migrant workers on different visa categories, the article makes a significant contribution to the labour market segmentation literature, which hitherto has focused on segmentation between migrant workers and non-migrant workers.

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 THE ENDURING VULNERABILITY OF MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS IN EUROPE

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clíodhna Murphy
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migration Law ◽  
Migrant Domestic Workers

AbstractWhile the rights of domestic workers are expanding in international law, including through the adoption of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention in 2011, migrant domestic workers remain particularly vulnerable to employment-related abuse and exploitation. This article explores the intersection of the employment law and migration law regimes applicable to migrant domestic workers in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland. The article suggests that the precarious immigration status of many migrant domestic workers renders employment protections, such as they exist in each jurisdiction, largely illusory in practice for this group of workers. The labour standards contained in the Domestic Workers Convention, together with the recommendations of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers on the features of an appropriate immigration regime for migrant domestic workers, are identified as providing an alternative normative model for national regulatory frameworks.

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.

It Takes a Village: Civil Society Regulation of Employment Standards for Temporary Migrant Workers in Australian Horticulture

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Clibborn
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Farm Workers ◽  
System Level ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Employment Standards ◽  
State Employment ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Migrant Farm

How can civil society actors address regulatory deficiencies in complex systems? The challenge of regulating employment standards in non-unionised industries is shared by many developed countries. In industries like horticulture, violation of minimum employment standards for vulnerable temporary migrant workers is widespread and state employment regulators struggle to enforce laws. This article examines the challenge at a system level incorporating a range of civil society stakeholders. It conceptualises a regional town and its surrounding horticulture-dependent economy and society as a complex system in which stakeholders face the challenge of reputational damage among temporary migrant farm workers, threatening future labour supply. This ‘tragedy of the commons’ was created by some stakeholders acting solely in their individual interests by underpaying and otherwise mistreating the workers. Using a qualitative approach including 30 interviews, focusing on a single farming region in Queensland, Australia, this article identifies the conditions in which civil society stakeholders in a horticulture system regulate employment standards through orienting and connecting with one another to advance both individual and shared interests.

“It’s better I’m dead”: oppression and suicidal ideation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Reber
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Context ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
First Time

Purpose Anecdotal accounts of suicide among temporary low-wage migrant workers in the UAE are numerous, but unofficial and qualitative accounts remain unexplored. This study aims to examine how the socio-environmental context can lead some low-wage migrants, irrespective of their nationality or culture, to contemplate suicide for the first time after arriving in the host country. Design/methodology/approach The findings draw from ten months of qualitative fieldwork (2015–2016) and in-depth interviews conducted with 44 temporary migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, earning in the lowest wage bracket in Dubai. The study used a non-probabilistic, purposive sampling approach to select participants. Three criteria drove eligibility: participants had to reside in the UAE, be non-national and earn Dh1500 (US$408) or less a month. Otherwise, diversity was sought in regard to nationality, occupation and employer. Findings Eight (18%) of the 44 study participants interviewed admitted to engaging in suicidal thoughts for the first time after arriving in the UAE. The findings suggest that for low-wage migrants working in certain socio-environmental contexts, the religious, gendered or other cultural or group characteristics or patterns that may be predictors of suicide in migrants’ country of origin may become secondary or possibly even irrelevant when one is forced to survive under conditions that by most objective standards would be deemed not only oppressive but extremely exploitative and abusive. Originality/value This study contributes to understandings of how the emotional and psychological well-being of temporary foreign low-wage migrant workers can be impacted by the socio-environmental context of the host country. It is a first step in understanding the intimate thoughts of low-wage migrant workers on the topic of suicidality, furthering our understanding of suicidal ideation and the factors that can contribute to it.

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