Abstract
Migrant populations, especially labor migrants, warrant focus during COVID-19 as they face increased risk from both the direct impact of COVID-19 as well as from the policy and practice responses to mitigate and control the virus. COVID-19 challenges governments as duty bearers to rethink ways of safeguarding and sustaining the flow of critical economic and public services and crucial (non-)digital infrastructure. This chapter is a review of literature and it looks at how development, transnational labor migration, and COVID-19 intersect. It presents the specific ways transnational labor migrants have been affected by the pandemic. The chapter discusses ways to better understand labor migration and offers opportunities to rethink policy and practice responses toward effective legal migration as well as safe, decent employment for migrant workers. Indeed, COVID-19 can be a catalyst for transformative sociopolitical activism for accountability and justice, and, if managed well, it can help to reduce inequalities and build just and sustainable Global South societies.
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Warria, A. (2021). Development, Transnational Labor Migration, and COVID-19. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Przeperski, J., Nadesan, V., Rezaul, I., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_188-1
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