Labour Migration

Abstract

This chapter will focus on labour migration, that is the movement of persons with the aim of employment or income-bringing activities (e.g., entrepreneurship), developing the topic which was also touched upon in Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-92377-8_3 on conceptual understanding of migration drivers. Research on labour migration has developed across various disciplines (e.g., sociology, anthropology, and geography), but most prominently in economics. It has resulted in a range of theoretical frameworks, starting with neoclassical economic theories and advancing through the New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM), dual labour market theory, and social network theory, to more recent transnational approaches or theories dedicated to particular forms of labour migration. These diverse approaches offer insights into labour migration on macro-, meso- and micro-levels. Although a dichotomy based on skills (high-skilled vs. low-skilled workers) can be seen as controversial or misleading as a division between workers representing these two types of skills is often vague or difficult to determine, the distinction does reflect recent debates on labour migration. Thus, a high−/low-skills dichotomy serves as a guide to the structure of this chapter.

Further Discussions on Labour Mobility in the EU

“…The latter refers to the engagement of workers on a very short-term or an occasional and intermittent basis, often for a specific number of hours, days, or weeks. For instance, due to the seasonal nature of agricultural and, to a somewhat lesser extent, construction work, these workers are often recruited on a temporary basis (Oso et al 2022), meaning that they are required to leave the receiving country after the work is concluded and are asked to return when demand in the labour market resumes. However, among the category of temporary migrant workers, we may also find people who came to the new countries as, for instance, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, marriage migrants, etc.…”

Rethinking Health-Related Vulnerabilities of Temporary Migrant Workers in Agriculture and Construction

“…The latter refers to the engagement of workers on a very short-term or an occasional and intermittent basis, often for a specific number of hours, days, or weeks. For instance, due to the seasonal nature of agricultural and, to a somewhat lesser extent, construction work, these workers are often recruited on a temporary basis (Oso et al 2022), meaning that they are required to leave the receiving country after the work is concluded and are asked to return when demand in the labour market resumes. However, among the category of temporary migrant workers, we may also find people who came to the new countries as, for instance, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, marriage migrants, etc.…”