Migration, crisis and the new global labour market.
Migration, crisis and the new global labour market.
Migration, crisis and the new global labour market.
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<strong>Migration</strong>, Crisis <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> New<br />
Global Labour Market<br />
Stephen Castles
Three stories – or four?<br />
1. The restructuring of <strong>labour</strong> <strong>market</strong>s in rich<br />
countries since <strong>the</strong> 1960s<br />
2. The welfare state: decommodification <strong>and</strong><br />
recommodification of <strong>labour</strong><br />
3. The <strong>global</strong>isation <strong>and</strong> hierarchisation of<br />
citizenship<br />
The overarching <strong>the</strong>me: <strong>the</strong> neo-liberal (counter)<br />
revolution<br />
4. The <strong>global</strong> economic <strong>crisis</strong>:<br />
• <strong>the</strong> end of neo-liberalism?<br />
2
Labour <strong>market</strong> restructuring: phase 1<br />
Expansion of manufacturing in core economies:<br />
1945-mid-1970s<br />
(The Fordist system)<br />
• Concentration of workers in large factories<br />
• Strong unions<br />
• Secure employment <strong>and</strong> improved wages<br />
• Welfare states to protect workers <strong>and</strong> families<br />
Migrant workers (guestworkers / colonial workers):<br />
– incorporated at lower levels<br />
– Secure though inferior legal status<br />
– Fairly good wages <strong>and</strong> welfare entitlements<br />
3
Labour <strong>market</strong> restructuring: phase 2<br />
Post 1973 ‘oil <strong>crisis</strong>’: <strong>global</strong> economic restructuring<br />
• New <strong>global</strong> investment strategy: capital export<br />
• Labour-intensive production moved to <strong>new</strong><br />
industrial areas in Global South<br />
• Decline of ‘rustbelt factories’ in Global North<br />
• Decline of blue-collar working class / unions<br />
• Reagan / Thatcher: neo-liberal attack on welfare<br />
Migrant workers<br />
– Guestworkers meant to leave – but stayed<br />
– Zero-immigration policies in Europe<br />
– New <strong>labour</strong> migrations in Asia, Gulf, etc<br />
4
Labour <strong>market</strong> restructuring: phase 3<br />
From 1990s: drivers of migration to Global North<br />
• Demographic: fertility decline <strong>and</strong> ageing<br />
• Social: young Europeans have more choice in<br />
education can reject menial work<br />
• Economic: need for <strong>labour</strong> of all skill levels<br />
• Globalisation: improved transport <strong>and</strong><br />
communications makes migration easier<br />
Migrant workers:<br />
– both high <strong>and</strong> low-skilled essential for high-tech<br />
industry, services, care work etc.<br />
– Migrants 12-25 % of workforce throughout Europe<br />
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‘The riches are <strong>global</strong>, <strong>the</strong> misery is local’<br />
New <strong>global</strong> class structure based on right to be<br />
mobile (Zygmunt Bauman)<br />
• Free movement for highly-skilled / entrepreneurs<br />
• ‘Side-doors’ for medium-level skills<br />
– Workers with trade skills<br />
– Working holidaymakers<br />
• Temporary or ‘circular’ migration for low skilled<br />
– New guestworker systems (agriculture, catering)<br />
– Contract workers in Middle East<br />
• Irregular entry <strong>and</strong> employment:<br />
– preferred by many employers – <strong>and</strong> governments!<br />
• Exclusion of asylum seekers <strong>and</strong> refugees<br />
6
NYC: migration <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>new</strong> economy<br />
Early 20 th century: rise of manufacturing<br />
– migrants from Sou<strong>the</strong>rn <strong>and</strong> Eastern Europe:<br />
– Garment, meatpacking, construction & transportation<br />
– Factories (sweatshops) in ethnic neighbourhoods:<br />
Little Italy, Lower East Side etc.<br />
– Strong unions –partly based on ethnic solidarity<br />
Early 21 st century: <strong>new</strong> economy<br />
– New migrations from Caribbean, Asia <strong>and</strong> Africa<br />
(often irregular)<br />
– Production jobs outsourced: Mexico, China, etc.<br />
– New jobs in retailing, personal services, etc.<br />
– Sub-contracting, casual work, informalisation<br />
– Fragmentation of ethnic solidarity<br />
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The ‘<strong>new</strong> economy’<br />
Neo-liberal ideology: worker status <strong>and</strong> pay<br />
depend on ‘human capital’<br />
Fragmentation of employment:<br />
– Privileged formal sector for natives <strong>and</strong> highly-skilled<br />
– Informalisation – e.g. catering, retail, care work<br />
– Casualisation for women, youth, migrants<br />
– Sub-contracting – e.g. construction, drivers<br />
Labour <strong>market</strong> segmentation based on:<br />
– Gender<br />
– Age / location<br />
– Origins <strong>and</strong> legal status<br />
– Race/ ethnicity<br />
8
Citizenship <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> welfare state:<br />
DE-commodification<br />
Rise of welfare regimes 1945-70s:<br />
– Anglo-American liberal regime<br />
– Conservative central <strong>and</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn European corporate regime<br />
– Sc<strong>and</strong>inavian social-democratic regime<br />
Varying levels of de-commodification of <strong>labour</strong>:<br />
• Social citizenship as a basic right<br />
– Even in <strong>the</strong> USA: from New Deal to Great Society<br />
• Welfare rights allowed working class to reject menial<br />
work <strong>and</strong> exploitation<br />
• Differing welfare regimes linked to variations in Fordist<br />
production <strong>and</strong> industrial relations regimes.<br />
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Citizenship <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> welfare state:<br />
RE-commodification<br />
• Neo-liberal roll-back of welfare state since<br />
1970s, linked to restructuring of <strong>global</strong> economy<br />
• Re-commodification of <strong>labour</strong> through:<br />
– Workfare regimes<br />
– Differentiation of ‘deserving’ <strong>and</strong> ‘undeserving’ poor<br />
– Differentiation on <strong>the</strong> basis of gender, race/ethnicity<br />
<strong>and</strong> legal status<br />
• Racialisation as:<br />
– Instrument of differentiation of <strong>labour</strong> force<br />
– Legitimation of inequality <strong>and</strong> impoverishment<br />
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Globalisation of <strong>the</strong> nation-state<br />
• The nation-state as a <strong>global</strong> norm:<br />
– 50 nation-states in 1945<br />
– 192 today<br />
• But nation-state has less control of<br />
boundaries<br />
– Cross-border flows as part of <strong>global</strong>isation<br />
• State control of economy, welfare <strong>and</strong> culture<br />
eroded<br />
• Growth in international migration <strong>and</strong> multiethnic<br />
populations<br />
• Unitary nation-state belonging questioned:<br />
– multiple identities, transnational communities<br />
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Hierarchical citizenship<br />
Most of <strong>the</strong> world’s people are citizens – for <strong>the</strong><br />
first time in history.<br />
Citizenship equal in name but hierarchical in<br />
fact:<br />
– US citizens<br />
– Citizens of o<strong>the</strong>r western states<br />
– Intermediate <strong>and</strong> transit countries<br />
– Poorest states<br />
– Non-citizens – ‘unlawful persons’<br />
Everybody has a passport –<br />
but not all passports will allow you to cross borders<br />
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Hierarchies of citizenship:<br />
within nation-states<br />
Citizens <strong>and</strong> nationals<br />
– Members of <strong>the</strong> formal economy<br />
– The working poor<br />
– The undeserving poor<br />
Denizens: migrants with jobs <strong>and</strong> acquired rights<br />
Excluded migrants <strong>and</strong> minorities:<br />
– Marginal employment (casual, temporary, subcontracting)<br />
– Differentiated on <strong>the</strong> basis of gender, race/ethnicity,<br />
origins, legal status<br />
Asylum seekers <strong>and</strong> irregular migrants<br />
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Hierarchies of citizenship:<br />
between nation-states<br />
between North <strong>and</strong> South<br />
• ‘Naturalisation’ of inequality, chaos <strong>and</strong> ethnic<br />
violence:<br />
– Some peoples labelled as incapable of building<br />
modern states <strong>and</strong> economies<br />
– Economic <strong>global</strong>isation as <strong>new</strong> ‘civilising mission’<br />
– Poverty of some groups is inevitable<br />
• Transnational racism<br />
– Migrants from South as threat: terrorism, crime,<br />
disease<br />
– Legitimates border restrictions<br />
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New social movements<br />
NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS:<br />
Dubai 21 March 2006<br />
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hhouli who was killed with a friend in a motorbike crash with a police car that caused riots,<br />
ed through Villiers-le-Bel carrying a banner at <strong>the</strong> front of <strong>the</strong> funeral procession that dema<br />
15. Vast deployments of riot police restored calm to <strong>the</strong> troubled suburbs of nor<strong>the</strong>rn Paris<br />
18<br />
Paris: 29 November 2007
Nashville, Tennessee, 29 March 2006<br />
19
Political dilemmas of <strong>the</strong> <strong>new</strong> social<br />
movements<br />
• Not led by left parties<br />
• Ambivalent role of trade unions<br />
• Traditionalism <strong>and</strong> opposition to modernity<br />
– Religious factors<br />
– Cultural factors<br />
– Fundamentalism <strong>and</strong> violence<br />
• Fragmentation of ‘single issue’ movements<br />
• Mistrust of left:<br />
20
Global financial <strong>crisis</strong> <strong>and</strong> migration<br />
Short-term<br />
• Return migration of some groups<br />
– e.g. Poles from UK <strong>and</strong> Irel<strong>and</strong><br />
• Reduced migration from South to North<br />
– Fewer Filipinos applying to migrate<br />
• Declines in irregular migration (e.g. Mexico-USA)<br />
• Reduced remittances by migrants to home countries<br />
• Increased hostility to migrants in some host countries<br />
– E.g. UK: Strikes against foreign workers<br />
• Reduced recruitment of foreign workers<br />
– E.g. South Korea: official stop to recruitment<br />
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Global financial <strong>crisis</strong> <strong>and</strong> migration<br />
Economic crises as migration turning points<br />
• World Economic Crisis of 1930s:<br />
– Sharp decline in migration<br />
– Considerable return migration - often forced (USA, France)<br />
– But many migrants stayed <strong>and</strong> settled permanently<br />
• Oil <strong>crisis</strong> 1973<br />
– Many migrants failed to leave – despite unemployment<br />
– Turning point from <strong>labour</strong> migration to permanent settlement<br />
– New industrial areas <strong>and</strong> <strong>new</strong> forms of migration<br />
• Asian Financial Crisis 1997-99<br />
– Few long-term effects on migration<br />
KEY ISSUE: does <strong>crisis</strong> lead to fundamental change in<br />
<strong>global</strong> economic strategy?<br />
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The <strong>global</strong> economic <strong>crisis</strong>:<br />
End of <strong>the</strong> neo-liberal dream?<br />
• Short-term interruption to neo-liberalisation <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>global</strong>isation?<br />
• Or major structural <strong>crisis</strong>, that will lead to fundamental<br />
changes in <strong>global</strong> economy, politics <strong>and</strong> social relations?<br />
A warning: Karl Polanyi’s Great Transformation<br />
• 19 th century <strong>market</strong> liberalism meant<br />
disembedding of economy from society<br />
• Result: a societal <strong>crisis</strong> fascism <strong>and</strong> war<br />
• Globalisation as a <strong>new</strong> Great Transformation?<br />
– But of <strong>the</strong> whole world this time<br />
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THE END<br />
Thank you for your attention<br />
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