Abstract
In this paper, I illustrate how a migrant labour market formed and solidified in the South-West of England immediately after the accession of eight countries (the A8) to the European Union. Furthermore, this was accompanied by a rapid process of differentiation and distinction, labelling particular groups as suited to certain types of work. The research is based on a series of interviews with (often well-educated) A8 migrants working in low-skill roles in the region. Findings indicate that the trajectories that initial migrants follow into work have the effect of producing routes into certain sorts of work for future migrants. However, when such routes lead to low-skill employment (as with the case of the majority of young A8 migrants), this has the effect of halting labour market progression for these workers, whilst simultaneously giving rise to commonly held assumptions that A8 migrants were particularly suited to certain kinds of work in the low-skill sector. I conclude that the co-existence of structural constraints and processes of distinction give rise to a situation in which workers entering the bottom of a migrant labour market can become trapped, regardless of their relative skills or qualifications. Furthermore, such processes rapidly become normalised and established and, without ever becoming formalised or officially grounded, begin to effect and limit the actions of individuals. Whilst such normalised behaviour may be open to contestation and change, it is remarkably resilient.
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Notes
The term ‘A8’ here refers to those countries which joined the European Union in 2004, the citizens of which were required to join the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS) in order to work legally in the UK until the scheme was abolished in 2011. The A8 countries are: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Citizens of Malta and Cyprus (which also acceded to the EU in 2004) were exempt from the scheme. Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania (which acceded in 2007) were also exempted from the WRS, but required work permits to work in the UK between 2007 and 2014.
Polish language interviews were conducted, translated and transcribed by Agnieszka Romaszko and Caroline Nicholson. The interviewers received training and guidance from the author prior to the interviews and were involved in regular debriefs. However, the analysis and interpretation contained here are solely the author’s.
An ‘employment agency’ as used here refers to an organisation – also known as a temporary staffing agency – which ‘introduces’ technically self-employed individuals to client companies. The agency remains responsible for paying these staff, providing their National Insurance contributions, and providing their statutory holiday pay. In turn, they charge this amount, plus an additional fee, to the client company. However, their relationship with placed staff is not legally that of an employer and, therefore, agency staff do not currently qualify for statutory ‘employee’ rights, as enshrined in the Employment Rights Act 1996, such as the right not to be fired without notice, the right to protection from unfair dismissal, redundancy rights, rights to flexible working, a written contract, parental or paternity leave and the right to join a union. Furthermore, beyond the rather limited scope of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004, the majority of such agencies are subject to no (or very limited) formal legal oversight. In contrast, ‘recruitment agencies’ focus on placing staff into either temporary contracts or permanent positions with an employer, who then takes over formal responsibility for the employment of that person, after paying the agency a recruitment fee.
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Vasey, H. The Emergence of a Low-Skill Migrant Labour Market: Structural Constraints, Discourses of Difference and Blocked Mobility. Int. Migration & Integration 18, 863–879 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-016-0507-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-016-0507-8