Guest Workers Research Articles

‘Reinvisiblisation’ of Indian Migrant Labours during/post COVID-19 Pandemic: A Biopolitical Study

The paper unravels the ‘reinvisiblisation’ of the Indian migrant labours, who underwent mass exodus because of the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic that brought to light their ‘invisibility’ to Indian planners and policymakers. The research qualitatively analyses the selected incidents to elucidate upon their precarious experiences unique to the pandemic. It employs the Foucauldian theoretical framework of docile bodies to understand the workings of biopower in disciplining the body of migrant labours to maintain their docility and utility even amidst the pandemic. The study further employs Judith Butler’s concept of precarious lives to delineate how migrant workers and labours were exposed to violence, injury, and death on their way back home. The research lays bare the attempts of the disciplinary regime to render them docile in the guise of assistance and ‘inclusive’ policy changes and concludes by suggesting serious changes in policy measures and alternatives to avoid such crises in the future.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act and warnings from previous immigration reforms

AbstractImmigrants are vital to agricultural production in the United States, and nearly half the crop workforce is unauthorized. Previous attempts to reform the immigration system have not successfully legalized the farm workforce or caused substantive rise in farmworker incomes. Current proposed legislation would legalize unauthorized farmworkers, streamline the H‐2A agricultural guest worker program, and provide a pathway to citizenship for H‐2A workers while simultaneously requiring agricultural employers to check the immigration status of workers using E‐Verify. This paper discusses proposed farm labor legislation in the context of current farm labor market conditions, outcomes of historical farm labor and immigration policies, and ongoing immigration trends.

Socio-economic Factors Influencing Migrant Labourers in Western Regions of Tanzania: Evidence from Kibondo District, Kigoma Region, Tanzania

Socio-economic Factors Influencing Migrant Labourers in Western Regions of Tanzania: Evidence from Kibondo District, Kigoma Region, Tanzania

The long journey home: viapolitics in the journey of migrant labourers during COVID-19 lockdown in India

After the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 in 2020, India saw a mass departure of migrant labourers from urban to native rural areas on foot, by cycle or with available means of transportation due to unexpected unemployment and poverty. This paper attempts to analyse various instances of this incident from the documentary film 1232 KMs (2021) directed by Vinod Kapri. Analysing the film within the framework of viapolitics, this study looks at the mode of transportation used for migration, the routes, the geographical structure and possible challenges on migratory paths to analyse how they affect and influence the migrants and their migratory process. It focuses on the different experiences of migrants based on their mode of transportation as it generates different cultures of mobility and exposes the different affordances for governmental action like a nationwide shutdown. The study explores human struggles over boundaries, life, security, and death in such a migration, particularly considering the socio-economic conditions of the people involved. A viapolitical reading of migrant labourers’ displacement during lockdown thus becomes relevant in throwing light on how factors like vehicles, trajectories, geographical structure, etc., projected their politics during the pandemic.

Unveiling the Necropolitics of Oil on Migrant Bodies in Deepak Unnikrishnan’s Birds

Oil played a significant role in fuelling the sociopolitical and economic development of Middle Eastern nations, attracting mass migration from South Asian nations. The article draws a nexus between the energy dynamics and labour exploitation within these petroleum-rich nations. It undertakes a close reading of the text Birds from Deepak Unnikrishnan’s novel Temporary People as it depicts the lives of migrant labourers who navigate an exploitative petro-capitalist system. The fictional text employs a narrative strategy juxtaposing elements of magic and realism, opening up a space for multilayered marginalised voices. The article engages with energy theories and interweaves Mbembe’s theory on necropolitics to grasp oil’s sovereign influence in delineating the boundaries between life and death in migrant lives. The surplus energy generated through fossil fuel extraction contributes to notions of boundless growth, coupled with technical and economic progress, which conceals the intensive manual labour underpinning these petrocultures. The magical property alluded to oil and the spectral absence of labour in the socio-cultural imagination co-constructs an exploitative and dehumanising labour regime for migrants. The migrant body is kept alive, and their existence is contingent upon the instrumental value of their labouring body, which constructs them as easily disposable and expendable as they are positioned outside the formal boundaries of citizenship.

The Plague Check: Population Culling as Pandemic Realpolitik

The COVID pandemic presented a bioeconomic opportunity to re-entrench extant differences (racial, sexual, ethnic, religious, or otherwise) and to escalate the ongoing engineering of imagined communities. This paper examines how this general paradigm unfolded in India’s lockdown of March 2020, and the consequent “long walk home” for migrant laborers. Narendra Modi’s decision exemplifies an autoimmune drive that splits the national body-politic into a visible citizenry, groomed as electorate, and the teeming masses, marked as threat and slated for expulsion from a unified body politic. Such a drive draws on moral and science-based sanctions for rationalizing what Christina Sharpe has named premature and preventable deaths. The moral sanction draws psychic force from dominant cultural symbols that mystify, sometimes sacralize, the body politic (Modi’s “Lakshman Rekha metaphor), while science-based biosecurity measures sort and segregate populations for the management of health. Plotting Malthusian historical resonances between war, famine, and disease, I characterize the Modi regime’s readiness to countenance migrant deaths as a “population culling” that is, unfortunately, an iterative feature in the archives of global pandemics.

Responding to Covid-19 Pandemic: Policy and Governance Perspective to Reverse Migration in Uttarakhand

The coronavirus disease, commonly referred to as Covid-19, had engendered inadvertent and significant societal upheaval, widespread economic setbacks, and compelled the relocation of individuals on a global scale. Analogous repercussions have been witnessed in the context of India, notably exemplified by the mass exodus of migrant labourers from their designated areas of employment to their native regions, precipitated by a comprehensive governmental lockdown enacted to interrupt the transmission chain of Covid-19. This stringent lockdown exacerbated the plight of economically marginalised migrant workers, compelling them to endure financial precarity and minimal reserves while confined to their residences. Consequently, a substantial number of migrants, primarily employed in the informal sector, found themselves compelled to return to their ‘places of origin’ from their ‘places of destination’ as an imperative means of survival. The present article elucidates the characteristics and ramifications of this phenomenon of reverse migration, undertaking an evaluative analysis of India’s response to the challenges posed by reverse migration in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Special attention is directed towards the policy and governance dynamics, with a particular focus on the hilly state of Uttarakhand, India.

‘They Will Shoot You to a Pulp!’ The Racialisation of Migrant Workers in the Emotive Cyberspace of ptt

Abstract This article analyses how social media users ‘reimagined’ the death of an undocumented Vietnamese migrant worker in 2017 in Taiwan and revealed their views on ethnic hierarchy and the judicial system as a public institution. By conceptualising posting on ptt, a Chinese-language bbs platform likened to Reddit, as a racialising process, this article finds posters’ reimagination of this event being characterised by criminalisation, dehumanisation, and distrust of the judicial system. Laden with emotions, some users displayed racial othering of migrant workers through militant masculinity, whereas others called for intersubjectivity and respect for life and rights. Some users equated being pro-police with being pro-violence, in contrast to others’ demand to regulate the police’s use of firearms. The totality of these views suggests that ptt is a volatile sociopolitical space facilitating antagonistic views. The racialising discourse echoes the exclusionary guest worker system adopted in Taiwan that regards migrant workers as the disposable and inferior other.

Offensive Heritage in an Era of Globalization and Mass Migration

Offensive Heritage in an Era of Globalization and Mass Migration

Navigating Power Structures: Symbolism, Realism, and Naturalism in The Grapes of Wrath through a Postcolonial Lens

This paper explores the representation and negotiation of power systems in John Steinbeck’s famous book “The Grapes of Wrath” by using a postcolonial framework. This study seeks to identify the manner in which questions of power, oppression, and resistance are depicted in the book by analyzing its themes of symbolism, realism, and naturalism through the lens of postcolonial theory. This study examines the symbolic meaning of people, situations, and events connected to hegemonic systems and colonial legacies through rigorous textual analysis. Additionally, it explores how the novel’s naturalism and realism illuminate the historical, socio-economic and environmental surroundings, emphasizing the connection between systemic inequality and power dynamics. This study clarifies how colonial ideas sustain exploitation and disenfranchisement by examining the experiences of marginalized groups, including tenant farmers, migrant labourers, and indigenous communities. Finally, this study advances our knowledge of how literature can be a platform for opposing and criticizing established power systems. It provides insights into the resilience and resistance strategies used by marginalized people.

Vocational opportunities for agricultural migrants in northern India: Insights from grassroots

The livelihood of Indian farmers is primarily shaped by agriculture and its allied components. The degree of intricacy and contributions of each agricultural activity, although, vary with different social-ecological systems. Migration is considered an approach to livelihood adaptation; however, the migrants face challenges in new social-ecological settings due to their limited access to resources. This research aimed to develop a predictive model for sustainable agricultural employment options in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (UP). In this study, states were selected purposively, while respondent farmers were chosen using a stratified multistage sampling design. A total of 480 resident and migrant farmers were selected to collect data. The machine learning algorithm, based on classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, was applied that could help to identify factors and prospects for migrant farmers in the agricultural sector. Results indicated that milk yield, operational land holding, and rabi crop yield were significant predictors. Further, milk yield, rabi crop yield, and kharif crop yield were observed to be the essential factors contributing to profitable ventures. The recommendations provided by Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s professionals led to the identification of key income-generating activities, such as livestock management, vegetable production, and organic farming. These prospects are tailored to the location-specific context where migrant farmers reside. Overall, this research shed light on viable employment opportunities, ultimately contributing to the well-being of migrant workers in northern India, in addition to the policy interventions focused on capacity building and providing an enabling environment to the migrants.

Transient spaces, temporary alliances: harvesting breathing spaces in India’s sugarcane fields

ABSTRACT Marathwada is a historically drought-affected and caste-ridden region in Maharashtra, and a reflection of India’s story of exclusionary economic growth. Poor rainfall, extractive agrarian practices, and social exclusion have forced nearly one million marginal farm families and landless communities to harvest sugarcane in neighbouring districts. They are recruited in pairs, as a koyta, almost universally comprising husband and wife, and live and work on different sugarcane fields for six months a year. This article first describes the asymmetrical power relations and day-to-day practices of gendered public space that shape the lives of female cane harvesters as women, wives, and migrant labourers. It then illustrates the temporary friendships and inter-generational alliances that have emerged in these shared life/work spaces, referred to as ‘breathing spaces’: on their co-ordinated walks to complete morning ablutions in the open fields, in their shared kitchens outside their makeshift homes, and on the tractor-trailers that ferry them from one sugarcane field to another. Here, they express themselves and engage in both casual banter and serious discussion about their alcoholic husbands and abusive labour contractors, sexual and reproductive health problems, and even anxieties and dreams. It is in and through such smaller, transitory spaces within the larger spaces – in the absence of men – that the article presents the myriad ways in which the female koyta workers (re)produce social relations and reclaim their own little pockets of freedom to ensure safety, relief, and recovery. The article is based on a multi-sited ethnographic study, including inter-generational conversations, focus group discussions, stakeholder interviews, and thick field notes documented between October 2020 and August 2021.

Financial well-being of internal migrant labours: the role of financial socialisation, financial knowledge and financial behaviour

PurposeThe primary purpose of the research is to examine the impact of financial socialisation (FS) on the financial well-being (FWB) of unskilled internal migrant labourers, particularly focusing on the intervening roles of financial knowledge (FK) and financial behaviour (FB).Design/methodology/approachUsing a cross-sectional research design, primary data from 269 unskilled internal migrant labourers were collected, applying the purposive sampling method. Using the data, the direct and mediated effects are examined through a three-path mediation model with structural equation modelling (SEM).FindingsDirect relationship analysis of FS on FWB exhibits an insignificant relationship, and FK also does not mediate the relationship; instead, FB acts as a potent mediator in both relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe study enriches existing literature as it contributes to understanding the FWB of internal migrant labour, highlighting the pivotal role of FS and FB. Further, it provides insights for policymakers to enhance FWB through targeted interventions and inclusive policies, promoting social inclusion, economic empowerment and inclusive development.Originality/valueDespite the significant economic role of unskilled internal migrant labours, studies have not focused on their FWB. Hence, the study delves into their FWB through FS directly as well as indirectly using a three-path mediation model for achieving sustainable development.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2024-0044

The 1973 Migrant Workers’ Conference and Histories of Multiculturalism

Nowhere is the alliance between leftist organisations, trade unions, migrant workers’ clubs and ethnic welfare societies better represented than in the migrant workers’ conferences held in 1973 and 1975. This article argues for the historic importance of these overlooked moments in the history of twentieth-century labour migration. It explores the inter-ethnic and social justice aims of grassroots multiculturalism in Australia – a model that has been lost in subsequent official renderings of multiculturalism. What was the social and political position of non-Anglo migrant labourers and the migrant rights activists representing their interests? How did they engage with the labour movement and the Far Left? What political alliances formed around this question of migrant labour and migrant welfare for ethnic minority workers? And what were the outcomes of these conferences? This article will explore the improbable alliances and tensions that formed the migrant rights movement in the early 1970s; track its fracturing after the mid-1970s, when economic crises rendered its more ambitious redistributive aims unachievable; and examine how the ideological direction of state-endorsed multiculturalism diverted its inter-ethnic social justice agenda.

Rightless rurality: the illegalization of Myanmar migrant laborers in Thailand’s agro-industry

ABSTRACT This paper explores relations of production in contemporary agrarian capitalism through the case of rural-rural migration from Myanmar to Thailand. It focuses on the often-overlooked rural proletariat, in this case, illegalized migrant laborers. It shows how migrants live and work in precarity, and argues that their social position is a result of practices of illegalization deployed by state authorities, local police, and farmers, which control and immobilize migrants socio-economically, spatially and politically. The paper adds to debates on the agrarian question of labor, stressing capital and (il)licit law enforcement as co-constitutive in shaping exploitation in the agro-industry.

Guaranteeing Human Rights? Italian ‘Gastarbeiter:innen’ and Housing Activism in 1960s and 1970s West Germany

This article examines migrant grassroots movements that invoked universalising rights’ languages to assert claims to decent and affordable housing in West Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. It focuses on Southern Italian migrant ‘guest workers’ who utilized rights’ claims to highlight dismal living conditions and the lack of access to affordable housing for migrant families in their new communities. Migrants’ claims then ‘scaled up’ to the level of international relations and the European Parliament as state actors and advocacy groups couched migrant housing conditions in terms of human rights. No matter the forum, ideas surrounding human rights created frameworks of debate over the West German welfare state, the free movement of labour within the European Economic Community, and even visions of European citizenship and integration. As such, this article illustrates the disparities between canonising human rights on paper and the challenges of guaranteeing said rights on the ground, particularly for populations not confined to the boundaries of their own nation-state.

Problems of Myanmar Women of Reproductive Age in Accessing Health Services as Migrant Workers in Thailand: A Qualitative Study

Background: The largest portion of migrant labor in Thailand originates from Myanmar, with almost half consisting of female workers. Most female migrant workers (MWs) are of reproductive age and often experience physical illnesses, including pregnancy and childbirth. Although access to prenatal care and delivery services for Myanmar MWs has been previously studied, their challenges in accessing other reproductive health services (HSs) have not yet been explored.Purpose: This study aimed to explore problems in accessing health services experienced by women of reproductive age (WRA) who were members of the Myanmar migrant workforce in Thailand.Methods: The present study employed a qualitative research design. The samples consisted of 20 informants aged 18-49 years old, who were Myanmar WRA working as migrant laborers for more than one year. They were subdivided into two groups: 10 participants provided information through in-depth interviews, and the other 10 participated in focus group discussions, with each group comprising 5 individuals. The researchers selected informants using criterion sampling. Data analysis utilized the Diekelmann and Allen method.Results: The findings revealed two general themes, including care ineligibility and problems in accessing health services. The six major issues among Myanmar WRA include inability to purchase or renew health insurance cards (HICs), HIC or social security wage deduction avoidance, communication issues, hospital inexperience, the transit fare, and admission refusal.Conclusion: Despite available health services, migrant women from Myanmar encounter barriers such as inability to purchase health insurance cards, wage deduction concerns, communication issues, hospital unfamiliarity, transportation expenses, and admission refusal. Addressing these barriers through policy interventions and support mechanisms is crucial for enhancing healthcare access.

‘Innovating’ to promote equity and inclusion in early childhood education: a framework for documenting localised pedagogical approaches

ABSTRACT This paper presents a conceptual framework for understanding ‘innovation’ in early childhood education as a process for addressing issues around social justice and inclusion. The framework is used to analyse innovative aspects of two unique, localised early childhood programmes implemented to support ethnic minority children in Northern Thailand and children of migrant labourers in urban India. Drawing on contemporary critiques that point to the global predominance of universalised models of teaching and learning, the paper highlights these contextually-responsive programmes as crucial in demonstrating the importance of ‘emergent’ pedagogical approaches for achieving equity and inclusion. To promote greater acknowledgement of programmes such as these, the paper presents a case for shifting the current focus on ‘innovation’ in education away from an emphasis on effectiveness for supporting greater efficiency of standardised, pre-determined learning outcomes, to encompass small-scale, localised approaches that support children from marginalised backgrounds.

Automated reconstruction: Predictive models based on facial morphology matrices

Forensic Facial Approximation (FFA) has evolved, with techniques advancing to refine the intercorrelation between the soft-tissue facial profile and the underlying skull. FFA has become essential for identifying unknown persons in South Africa, where the high number of migrant and illegal labourers and many unidentified remains make the identification process challenging. However, existing FFA methods are based on American or European standards, rendering them inapplicable in a South African context. We addressed this issue by conducting a study to create prediction models based on the relationships between facial morphology and known factors, such as population affinity, sex, and age, in white South African and French samples. We retrospectively collected 184 adult cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans representing 76 white South Africans (29 males and 47 females) and 108 French nationals (54 males and 54 females) to develop predictive statistical models using a projection onto latent structures regression algorithm (PLSR). On training and untrained datasets, the accuracy of the estimated soft-tissue shape of the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth was measured using metric deviations. The predictive models were optimized by integrating additional variables such as sex and age. Based on trained data, the prediction errors for the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth ranged between 1.6 mm and 4.1 mm for white South Africans; for the French group, they ranged between 1.9 mm and 4.2 mm. Prediction errors on non-trained data ranged between 1.6 mm and 4.3 mm for white South Africans, whereas prediction errors ranging between 1.8 mm and 4.3 mm were observed for the French. Ultimately, our study provided promising predictive models. Although the statistical models can be improved, the inherent variability among individuals restricts the accuracy of FFA. The predictive validity of the models was improved by including sex and age variables and considering population affinity. By integrating these factors, more customized and accurate predictive models can be developed, ultimately strengthening the effectiveness of forensic analysis in the South African region.

Statistical analysis of international labour migration strategy from India to the Gulf countries

This study investigates the economic implications of migration, specifically focusing on the monetary expenses incurred during the migration process and the fundraising methods employed by the Gulf migrant workers from Bihar. The research involved a sample of 400 participants obtained using a three-stage cluster sampling method. The participants were Gulf migrant labourers originating from the Siwan and Gopalganj districts of Bihar. The findings of the chi-square test indicate that both technical education and prior job experience have a significant impact on reducing migration expenses. However, it is worth noting that the process of getting visas through agents is costly, even though the majority of migrant workers rely on the services of agents. The average overall expense for Gulf migration exceeds three times the earnings acquired in the destination country. The regression analysis revealed that several factors, such as the age of migrant workers, technical education, source of visa, level of education, and prior job experience, had a statistically significant influence on the cost of migration. For the fund-raising strategy, migrant labourers rely largely on their parents and social networks. The practice of obtaining funds from moneylenders is still prevalent among migrants. The study sheds light on the key determinants of migration costs for workers and emphasizes the crucial role of social networks and family support in facilitating migration. Additionally, this study offers policy recommendations aimed at reducing the financial burden associated with migration and it proposes that the government should engage in partnerships with financial institutions to establish dedicated lending initiatives for migrant workers, referred to as migration loans.