This stream is focused on theorising why migrants work as hard as they do. How are employers able to extract higher labour value from migrants, often more than from the domestic labour force? How should we theorise migrant workers' willingness to adhere to work relations often more exploitative than that of the regular work force? How are the capital-labour relationships shaped by forces beyond the work space in case of migrant labour?
The session invites theoretical analyses of the manufacturing of migrant worker consent, and how it is geographically complex and varies over time/space. Papers may discuss how control over migrant workers occurs at/beyond the workplace, drawing on labour process theory (for control within the workplace) or labour control regime theory (for control outside the workplace).
Importantly, to date, migration scholars have paid less attention to labour control regime theory (and mechanisms of migrant worker control outside the workplace) than labour process theory (and mechanisms of migrant worker control within the workplace), and few have considered the two frameworks in parallel. Arguably, this is a key shortcoming in existing literature and the session welcomes conceptual or empirical contributions seeking to draw together these two theoretical approaches to better understand how migrant labour power is activated, realised, and in many cases exploited by capital.
In terms of Labour Process Theory, and the control of labour and activation of labour power within the workplace, we are particularly interested in how migrant-dense workplaces and sectors are associated with things like:
- The intensification of work
- New technologies of labour monitoring and surveillance
- Labour segmentation
- Use of intermediaries
- Different (gendered, nationality, racialised, etc.) divisions of labour
- Employer non-compliance
- Informalisation of work place relationships
In terms of Labour Control Regime Theory, and the production / reproduciton of work ethic outside of the workplace, we are particularly interested in:
- The impact of host country immigration policies
- The impact of migrants’ limited citizenship rights and thus limited welfare entitlements
- The mobility-immobility dynamic in many migrants’ lives
- The role of Ɵed and at-work accommodation
- The impact of transnational family and caring responsibilities
- The consequences of migrant indebtedness
The session welcomes contributions from the migration research traditions, which often have neglected labour market theory, such as studies focusing on labour migrants in certain regions and/or migration streams, and in different industries and kinds of work places. Respectively, we welcome labour theory studies that discuss particularities of migrant labour at labour markets, industries and work places. Studies from different method traditions, and especially comparative approaches are welcome.
We invite activists, co-research (whether inside and outside academia), PhDs and early career researchers as well as more experienced researchers. Our perspective is global and we would like to cover a range of geographical contexts in this stream. Migrant-dense sectors we would particularly like to explore include: care work; agriculture; the gig economy; hospitality; cleaning. In addition, we are interested in the link between migrants’ temporariness and labour control and would like some perspectives covering temporary/ seasonal migrant work.