Migrant subjectivities and temporal flexibility of East‐Central European labour migration to the United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper seeks to broaden existing understandings of migrant worker flexibility drawing on the data from the two ethnographic studies of low-wage employers and Eastern European migrants in Scotland. It focuses on the temporal aspects of flexibility production in employment discourse and temporal expectations about flexible migrant workers. Our findings reveal double movement of interruption and remaking of temporal flexibility, which challenges directional expectations about time and unsettles the assumed connectivity between flexibility's temporal elements. Uncertainty and instability of migration and employment frameworks undermine the attempts of employers and migrants to manage time, to develop continuous portfolio careers and coherent temporal horizons. Furthermore, contested temporal expectations about flexible migrant workers create fragmented and fractured "flexiworkers" that do not fit within the existing temporal frameworks of signs, routines, and rhythms. The paper suggests re-orientation of flexibility debates beyond temporal measurement, outside familiar temporal structures, and towards redefinition of flexible worker identities.

Future plans and integration in the Greek cities: Time as a resource and implication of belonging in refugees’ discourse.

“…For instance, authors have highlighted changes in intergroup relations and a constant negotiation of identities in minority communities in United States and Europe after 9/11 (Bhatia & Ram, 2009;Rytter & Pedersen, 2014). Furthermore, studies such as those by Shubin and McCollum (2021) and Griffiths et al (2013) stressed crisis-ridden insecurities and pinpointed the ways in which precariousness and flexibility forced migrants to enter a continuous "career hunt" or to adhere to structures over which they have little to no control (see also Bertolini et al, 2018). In the same vein, Kesisoglou et al (2016) examined "narratives of flight" of second-generation migrants in Greece, distinguishing in particular narratives of the "effortful and versatile subject," "the entrepreneurial or neo-liberal subject" who shoulders the weight to find better living conditions, and narratives related to the dilemma of getting through difficulties in Greece or leaving Greece and being re-patriated.…”

“…At the same time, he constructs his tendency not to make plans as factually robust and as knowable in advance; therefore, he also reduces the need to provide any further explanation of it (Edwards, 1994(Edwards, , 1995. The positioning of a person who tries to maintain a coherent self by focusing on the present is juxtaposed and at the same time grounded on a disrupted temporality (Shubin & McCollum, 2021). He makes reference to his ability to focus on the present as a way to control the future and minimize expectations.…”

“…He makes reference to his ability to focus on the present as a way to control the future and minimize expectations. This flexible construction of identity is presented as disconnected from the chronological trajectory and open to an uncertain future, which needs to be negotiated (Shubin & McCollum, 2021).…”

Trapped Within Borders: Exploitation of Migrant Seasonal Workers in German Agriculture During COVID-19 Lockdown; Placing the Actors and Understanding Their Roles

“…Seasonal workers are defined as "…individuals who move from one place to another to work in agriculture, and who then return to their permanent residences at the end of a season" (Şimşek et al, 2016, p. 627). These individuals are a difficult-to-reach population (Barrick, 2016) and are at risk of suffering early mortality and diseases (Arcury & Quandt, 2007;International Labour Office, 2004;Şimşek et al, 2012;Steege et al, 2009), an outcome intensified by their migrant lifestyle, geographical and social segregation, lack of access to healthcare, and their insufficient awareness of preventative health strategies (Arcury & Quandt, 2007;McCollum & Findlay, 2015;Shubin & McCollum, 2021) or their rights (Boels, 2016). They can also be vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation (Barrick, 2016;Byrne & Smith, 2016;International Labour Office, 2004;Zhang et al, 2014).…”

“…They can also be vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation (Barrick, 2016;Byrne & Smith, 2016;International Labour Office, 2004;Zhang et al, 2014). Their working conditions are often poor with respect to salary, social protection, and accommodations (Barrick, 2016;Boels, 2016;Ceccato, 2017;Shubin & McCollum, 2021;Zhang et al, 2014). For instance, it has been reported in several countries that workers are hosted in unsanitary places for which they still had to pay considerable fees deducted from their salary (Arcury et al, 2012;Boels, 2016;Flocks & Burns, 2006;Villarejo et al, 2010).…”