12 år sedan
Migrants – the new subclass? June 2 2012
Around the world a new informal labour market is emerging, with low-paid jobs and increasing segregation. Are the world’s millions of migrants on their way towards becoming the new subclass of the labour market? How can migrant worker rights be protected? What responsibility do countries such as Sweden have? On the 2nd of June, Global Utmaning in collaboration with the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS) and Remeso hosted a seminar with international scholars and experts.
Renowned migration scholar, Professor Stephen Castles from the University of Sydney, opened the seminar with a historical overview of how globalisation is changing the terms for citizenship, labour migration and maginalisation worldwide.
See Stephen Castles’ lecture here (21 min):
Professor Judy Fudge, Victoria University, Canada, followed up with a comparison of Sweden and Canada, partially puncturing the widespread notion of Canada’s openness as a migrant destination. Judy Fudge identified a negative spiral in which migrants end up in low paid sectors with a low degree of unionisation, in turn leading to falling wages and worsening terms of employment.
See Judy Fudge’s lecture here (17 min):
Helma Lutz, Professor at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, spoke of the lack of a gender perspective in the migration debate. This becomes relevant not least considering how many female migrants work in the care and domestic service sectors.
See Helma Lutz’ lecture here (21 min):
Professor Raul Delgado Wise, from the University of Acatecas, Mexiko, finished with a critique of the prevailing view of migrants’ contribution to growth and development. Migration is almost always presented as a problem, despite evidence of a substantial contribution to American growth coming from Mexican migrants and guest workers.
See Raul Delgado Wise’s lecture here (23 min):
