Multiple frames of reference: Why international student workers in Australia tolerate underpayment

Abstract

This article advances research on why international students, who comprise a growing segment of the workforce in many countries, are underpaid. By revisiting Piore’s dual frames of reference theory, the article builds an important knowledge base around migrant workers’ tolerance of low pay. The research uses mixed methods incorporating a survey of 1433 international students, and interviews with 40 of them. Drawing on segmented labour market theory and examining workers’ ‘multiple frames of reference’, the article seeks to explain migrant workers’, in this case international students’, tolerance of extensive and persistent underpayment. While migrants’ reference to lower pay in their home country has long been accepted as explanation for their acceptance of low pay, it is not found to be a significant factor. The new concept of ‘peer frame of reference’ is developed to explain their tolerance of underpayment.

Logistics of migrant labour: rethinking how workers ‘fit’ transnational economies

“…The transnational character of migrants' socio-economic lives, which is an important theme in the case studies presented below, affects how standards and expectations are negotiated between migrants and employers (Waldinger and Lichter 2003). The constitution of such dual (Piore 1979) or multiple frames of reference (Clibborn 2018), deserve further attention. Literature on migration industries illustrates how migrant identities are produced and marketed through labour market intermediaries, which also contribute to maintaining a dual frame of reference that legitimises lower salaries for migrant workers (McCollum and Findlay 2018).…”

Theorizing sites and strategies of differential inclusion: Unlawful migrant workers in Australia

“…This attention resulted from a number of inquiries regarding the exploitation of migrants on temporary work visas (see Commonwealth of Australia, 2017a) and public exposés of exploitation (Sydney Morning Herald, 2015). Accompanying these revelations has been increasing research in Australia focused on working holiday visas (Underhill and Rimmer, 2016) and international students (Clibborn, 2018), as well as the challenges faced by those on skilled working visas (Berg, 2016). The consequence of increased awareness of exploitative practices has been a push towards recognizing the vulnerabilities of migrant workers and efforts to better protect these workers.…”

Wage Theft in Silence: Why Migrant Workers Do Not Recover Their Unpaid Wages in Australia

“…The survey was developed by the authors in collaboration with Dr Stephen Clibborn (University of Sydney), who had also identified reasons why migrant workers do not complain about underpayment within previous research into wage theft among international students and Working Holiday Makers. 8 All survey participants had worked in Australia on a temporary visa. Most held one of the three dominant visa classes: international students who may work up to 40 hours per fortnight while their course is in session and unlimited hours during breaks; Working Holiday Makers -young travellers from certain countries with which Australia has a reciprocal relationship -who may work up to six months with any one employer during their yearlong stay in Australia; and skilled temporary employees working for a sponsoring employer.…”