Vulnerability, Exploitation and Migrants

Globalization, the economic crisis and related policies of austerity have led to a growth in extreme exploitation at work, with migrants particularly vulnerable. This book explores the lives of the growing numbers of severely exploited labourers in the world today, questioning how we can respond to such globalized patterns of extreme inequality.

“"This wide ranging volume explores the relation between migration, exploitation and globalisation from multiple perspectives, bringing together diverse experiences from the global north and the global south. It exposes the structural underpinnings of the production of vulnerability through the lack of global governance of labour relations, and the stringency of global citizenship regimes. Setting ethnographic and qualitative studies of migrants alongside political economic analysis of neoliberal capitalist development it provides fascinating analysis of how global capital impacts on daily lives, and offers some examples of how to fight back." - Bridget Anderson, University of Oxford, UK”

"Read this book. It is a work of solidarity and is both urgent and unique. Urgent because it engages directly with the structural reasons why migrant workers are especially likely to face work-place exploitation. It is thus a call for action in dangerous times. Unique because of its breadth in encompassing both analysis of migrant workers' own strategies to manage harsh working and living conditions across contrasting global contexts and understanding of the neoliberal policies and business practices that create those conditions. Clear in its overall message, the book rightly steers readers towards the diversity of migrant workers' experiences, and to an appreciation and respect for the agency of migrants themselves, even in conditions where victories may only be small, and changes fleeting." - Ben Rogaly, University of Sussex, UK

"Neoliberal globalisation is exacerbating inequality, and creating new forms of exploitation on the basis of race, gender, origins and - above all - legal status. This invaluable book explores the special vulnerability of migrant workers and asylum seekers. It examines the political economy of the production of vulnerability, while case studies from Europe, Latin America and Asia reveal the everyday reality of exploitation and precarity. But the authors do not simply lament such abuses: they map out strategies to fight for the rights of vulnerable workers and to build global citizenship." - Stephen Castles, University of Sydney, Australia

Nicola Phillips, University of Sheffield, UKJohn Smith, Kingston University, UKRossana Cillo, University of Venice Ca' Foscari, ItalyLucia Pradella, University of Venice Ca' Foscari, ItalyKendra Strauss, Simon Fraser University, CanadaMatej Blazek, Loughborough University, UKAlex Balch, University of Liverpool, UKTom Vickers, Northumbria University, UKMaja Sager, Lund University, SwedenDonghyuk Park, University of Paris Diderot, FranceLouise Waite, University of Leeds, UKHannah Lewis, University of Leeds, UKStuart Hodkinson, University of Leeds, UKPeter Dwyer, University of York, UKEliana Ferradás Abalo, School for International Training, USAJerónimo Montero Bressán, Ministry of Labour, ArgentinaRebecca Lawthom, Manchester Metropolitan University, UKSue Baines, Manchester Metropolitan University, UKCarolyn Kagan, Manchester Metropolitan University, UKMark Greenwood, Wai Yin Chinese Women Society, UKSandy Lo, Wai Yin Chinese Women Society, UKLisa Mok, Wai Yin Chinese Women Society, UKSylvia Sham, Wai Yin Chinese Women Society, UKScott Gaule, Manchester Metropolitan University, UKAlice Bloch, University of Manchester, UKSonia McKay, University of the West of England, UKLeena Kumarappan, London Metropolitan University, UKIsmail Idowu Salih, Middlesex University School of Law, UKDomenica Urzi, University of Nottingham, UKAna Lopes, University of the West of England, UKTim Hall, University of East London, UKAnnieDelaney, Victoria University, AustraliaJane Tate, Homeworkers Worldwide, UKJoanna Ewart-James, Walk Free Partner Network, UKNeill Wilkins, Institute for Human Rights and Business, UK

Exploitation at work is not new, but the past few decades have seen a growth in extreme exploitation; the consequence of globalization, the on-going economic crisis and related policies of austerity. Migrants of all kinds often find themselves at the sharp edge of such experiences. This edited collection explores the lives of the rapidly growing numbers of migrants, examining issues of vulnerability and exploitation in the labour market, and drawing on material from across the world. It does this through a far-reaching analysis of lived experiences of exploitation in different geographical contexts. In cataloguing these experiences, the book investigates global neoliberalized economies and emergent labour and product supply chains; states' management of migrants' mobility and the structural production of immigration statuses; characteristics of enclave economies for migrants and their co-ethnic/co-language networks; and national/international responses and interventions designed to tackle migrant exploitation. Global exploitation processes, the book argues, require global responses.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.