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Temporary migration programmes: the cause or antidote for migrant worker exploitation in UK agriculture

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-21, 06:02 authored by Erica Consterdine, Sahizer Samuk
The referendum result in Britain in 2016 and the potential loss of EU labour in the advent of a “hard Brexit” has raised pressing questions for sectors that rely on EU labour, such as agriculture. Coupled with the closure of the long-standing Seasonal Agricultural Scheme in 2013, policymakers are grappling with how to satisfy one the one hand employer demands for mobility schemes, and on the other public demands for restrictive immigration policies. Labour shortages in agriculture transcend the immigration debate, raising questions for food security, the future of automation and ultimately what labour market the UK hopes to build. Temporary Migration programmes have been heralded as achieving a triple win, yet they are rightly criticized for breeding bonded labour and exploitation. In lieu of a dedicated EU labour force agricultural employers are calling for the establishment of a new seasonal scheme. In this paper we explore whether the absence of a temporary migration programme resolves the potential exploitation of migrant workers. We argue that the absence of a TMP is not an antidote to migrant exploitation, and that a socially just TMP which is built around migrant agency may be the most palpable solution.

Funding

FP7 - TEMPER - TEMPORARY VERSUS PERMANENT MIGRATION; G1323; EUROPEAN UNION; FP7-SSH-2013-2-613468

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of International Migration and Integration

ISSN

1488-3473

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

4

Volume

19

Page range

1005-1020

Department affiliated with

  • Geography Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sussex Centre for Migration Research Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-05-04

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-06-04

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-05-04

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