Waite, L (2017) Asylum Seekers and the Labour Market: Spaces of Discomfort and Hostility. Social Policy and Society, 16 (4). pp. 669-679. ISSN 1474-7464
Abstract
This article examines the relationship in the UK between asylum-seeking and the labour market. Since 2002, asylum-seekers have not been allowed to work unless they have waited over twelve months for an initial decision on their asylum claim. This policy change occurred as employment was considered a ‘pull factor’ encouraging unfounded asylum claims. Despite not having the right to work, asylum-seekers – and especially those whose applications for refugee status have been refused by the UK government – interact with the labour market in manifold ways. Drawing on an ESRC-funded study in the UK's Yorkshire and Humber region and related studies, this article argues that both asylum-seekers and refused asylum-seekers form a hyper-exploitable pool of ‘illegalised’ and unprotected workers. As a vital part of their survival terrain, work is largely experienced as for-cash labouring in low-paid labour market sectors where the spectre of exploitation and even ‘modern slavery’ are perpetual threats. Recent policy shifts are deepening such threats through creating increasingly ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘hostile’ environments for certain categories of migrants.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2017. This article has been published in a revised form in Social Policy and Society, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746417000173. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. |
Keywords: | Asylum seekers; labour; exploitation; modern slavery; hostility |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Citizenship & Belonging (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 May 2017 16:06 |
Last Modified: | 20 Jan 2018 07:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S1474746417000173 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:116670 |