Conference Programme (PDF, 1019KB) - Trinity College Dublin

abstracts by stream and session
migration, employment & regulation
SESSION 1b Migrations, Institutions and the Regulation of the Labour Market
A flood of cheap labour? Mass immigration and the re-regulation of the Irish labour market
*James Wickham, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Elaine Moriarty, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Alicja Bobek, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Torben Krings, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Justyna Salamonska, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Most studies of immigration study migrants themselves. In this paper however we study the impact of migration on the host society,
taking the example of the short period at the start of this century when Ireland experienced mass immigration. Our interest is specifically
in the impact of this immigration on the regulation of the labour market. As such the paper contributes to the debate in sociology and
political economy over the role of national institutional systems. In particular, the ‘varieties of capitalism’ research tradition has stressed
the continuation and path dependency of institutional arrangements, but has been criticised for its functionalism and its apparent inability
to explain change. Through a focus on the workplace and the regulation of employment in two key sectors of the Irish economy, we
contribute to that debate.
The first part of the paper explores the different possible ways mass immigration can change the receiving society. There is some
research on the impact of immigration on social cohesion, on wage differentials and occupational polarisation. We suggest however
that is important to also consider the impact of migration on the institutional structure of society, in particular the institutions of labour
market regulation. These institutions are themselves not immutable, but are potentially changed by the participants. We thus adopt an
actor-centred approach. Furthermore, while most discussion of employment regulation focuses on national systems, we suggest that
employment conditions are crucially shaped both by international institutions and, even more importantly, by the meso-level of sectoral
institutions. We thus see the workplace as regulated by sectoral, national and EU level institutions; this multi-level governance enables
actors to influence the workplace by playing off different levels of political action. Following in particular the work of Bosch et al (2009),
we the workplace as located within the interaction of sector, national and EU level institutional systems.
We explore this argument with data from an ongoing study of the employment of Polish migrants in Ireland. After a brief account of
our research, subsequent sections of the paper examine the very different experience of migrants in the hospitality industry and the
construction industry in Ireland.
Far from developing a ‘high road’ strategy of quality service and improved employment, Irish employers in hospitality casualised their
labour force by utilising national and EU policies which ensured the sudden availability of a plentiful supply of labour. This appears to
have been completely compatible with a growing stress on ‘aesthetic’ labour and qualifications, since many immigrants were in these
terms better ‘qualified’ than the traditional workforce. This process involved an erosion of pre-existing institutions. Previously extensive
state training for entrants to the industry was allowed to wither, to be replaced by ad hoc short-term training for ordinary workers (‘meet
and greet’), by management training, and by importing limited categories of already trained skilled labour (crucially chefs). Trade union
membership plummeted. A longstanding state-backed system of wage regulation (Joint Labour Committees) became marginalised and is
now under legal challenge.
We contrast this situation with that in the construction sector. Here also employers made great use of the new migrant labour pool.
Initially changes were similar to those in the construction industry: a growth of (relatively) low waged jobs, erosion of existing training
provision, weakening of wage regulatory institutions. In addition there was extensive sub-contracting, as well as direct contracts being
won by foreign firms importing their own low-paid labour. However, in this sector a process of re-regulation appeared to take place. An
aggressive trade union recruitment campaign increased union membership. Mobilising public concern, trade unions were able to force
the state to enhance its enforcement of safety standards and employment rights through the creation of a new National Employment
Rights Agency. Migrant workers in the sector acquired a greater awareness of their rights – and to be more prepared to insist on them.
However, despite the crucial role of the unions in creating this climate, the immediate recourse seems to have been to the legal system
rather than union representation.
The final empirical section of the paper briefly assesses the impact of the current economic crisis. Employment in the hospitality sector
and (especially) the construction sector grew faster than overall national employment during the Irish boom. Conversely, job losses in
both sectors are dramatic today. We consider the extent to which the apparent re-regulation of employment in construction has been
eroded by widespread employment insecurity. Will the slump simply mean that both sectors return to the situation before the boom? We
conclude with theoretical reflections on the mutability or otherwise of sectoral and national institutions of labour market regulation.
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