IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v53y2022i2p126-141.html

How does informalisation encourage or inhibit collective action by migrant workers? A comparative analysis of logistics warehouses in Italy and hand car washes in Britain

Author

Listed:
  • Gabriella Cioce
  • Ian Clark
  • James Hunter

Abstract

Cross‐national research is key to understanding the global presence of informal and non‐compliant workplaces. This article comparatively examines how informalisation encourages or inhibits collective action led by migrant workers employed in Italian logistics warehouses (LWs) and the British hand car washes (HCWs). The term collective action derives from mobilisation theory and refers to joint resistance initiatives developed by workers and labour organisations to improve work conditions. The article argues that migrant labour does not necessarily lead to informal practices and claims that labour market regulatory agencies and trade unions play an important but dialectical role in responding to labour market non‐compliance and informality. Finally, it notes that sector‐based specificities contribute to and potentially inhibit the emergence of collective dynamics in such workplaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriella Cioce & Ian Clark & James Hunter, 2022. "How does informalisation encourage or inhibit collective action by migrant workers? A comparative analysis of logistics warehouses in Italy and hand car washes in Britain," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 126-141, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:53:y:2022:i:2:p:126-141
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12359
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12359?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davide Però, 2020. "Indie Unions, Organizing and Labour Renewal: Learning from Precarious Migrant Workers," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(5), pages 900-918, October.
    2. Saskia Sassen, 2009. "Cities Today: A New Frontier for Major Developments," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 626(1), pages 53-71, November.
    3. Ian Clark & Trevor Colling, 2018. "Work in Britain's Informal Economy: Learning from Road†Side Hand Car Washes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(2), pages 320-341, June.
    4. Mark R. Warren, 1994. "Exploitation or Cooperation? The Political Basis of Regional Variation in the Italian Informal Economy," Politics & Society, , vol. 22(1), pages 89-115, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Mendonça & Nadia K. Kougiannou & Ian Clark, 2023. "Informalization in gig food delivery in the UK: The case of hyper‐flexible and precarious work," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 60-77, January.
    2. Pedro Mendonça & Nadia K Kougiannou, 2025. "‘We Are Not All the Same’: The Capacity of Different Groups of Food Delivery Gig Workers to Build Collective and Individual Power Resources," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(2), pages 311-335, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pedro Mendonça & Nadia K. Kougiannou & Ian Clark, 2023. "Informalization in gig food delivery in the UK: The case of hyper‐flexible and precarious work," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 60-77, January.
    2. Verna Alcalde‐González & Ana Gálvez‐Mozo & Alan Valenzuela‐Bustos, 2024. "Social movement unionism in Spain's feminized precarious service sector: Criticism, cooperation and competition," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 154-173, March.
    3. Ian Clark & Trevor Colling, 2019. "New insights into informal migrant employment: Hand car washes in a mid-sized English city," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 40(3), pages 755-775, August.
    4. Colin C. Williams & Jan Windebank, 2000. "Self-help and Mutual Aid in Deprived Urban Neighbourhoods: Some Lessons from Southampton," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(1), pages 127-147, January.
    5. Lorenzo Frangi & Anthony C Masi & Bénédicte Poirier, 2023. "From Unwoven Societal Relationships to a Broad-Based Movement? Union Power in Societal Networks in Quebec (Canada)," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1377-1394, October.
    6. Andrea Borello, 2025. "Structural Unfairness or Disrespect and Misrecognition? Theorising the Pathway Between Feelings of Injustice and Collective Mobilisation Among Precarious Migrant Workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 63(3), pages 413-426, September.
    7. Anna‐Lena Nadler & Elif Naz Kayran, 2026. "Job Precarity and Attitudes Towards Labour Unions: The Mitigating Role of Immigrant Background," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 64(1), pages 182-193, March.
    8. Saerom Han, 2023. "Mobilizing within and beyond the Labor Union: A Case of Precarious Workers’ Collective Actions in North Africa," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 674-696, August.
    9. Arjan Keizer & Mat Johnson & Trine P Larsen & Bjarke Refslund & Damian Grimshaw, 2024. "Unions and precarious work: How power resources shape diverse strategies and outcomes," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 30(4), pages 383-402, December.
    10. Joyce Jiang & Marek Korczynski, 2024. "The Role of Community Organisations in the Collective Mobilisation of Migrant Workers: The Importance of a ‘Community’-Oriented Perspective," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(2), pages 339-357, April.
    11. Philip Hancock & Melissa Tyler, 2024. "Live Performers’ Experiences of Precarity and Recognition during COVID-19 and Beyond," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(6), pages 1569-1590, December.
    12. Verdin, Rachel & O'Reilly, Jacqueline, 2021. "A gender agenda for the future of work in a digital age of pandemics: Jobs, skills and contracts," WSI Studies 24, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    13. Lorenzo Frangi & Sinisa Hadziabdic & Anthony C. Masi, 2022. "In the interest of everyone? Support for social movement unionism among union officials in Quebec (Canada)," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 446-465, September.
    14. Syed Imran Saqib & Matthew M C Allen & Miguel Martínez Lucio & Maria Allen, 2024. "Sustaining Solidarity through Social Media? Employee Social-Media Groups as an Emerging Platform for Collectivism in Pakistan," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(3), pages 636-656, June.
    15. Ioulia Bessa & Andy Hodder & John Kelly, 2025. "Why Do So Many People Not Vote? Correlates of Participation in Trade Union Strike Ballots," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(2), pages 290-310, April.
    16. Thomas Hastings & Andrew Herod, 2024. "Labour geography and the state: Exploring labour's role in working against, with and through the state to improve labour standards," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(1), pages 59-79, February.
    17. Riccardo Crescenzi & Simona Iammarino & Carolin Ioramashvili & Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2019. "The Geography of Innovation: Local Hotspots and Global Innovation Networks," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 57, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    18. Petr Mezihorak & Annalisa Murgia & Paolo Borghi & Mathilde Mondon-Navazo, 2023. "Representing Solo Self-Employed Workers: The Strengthening of Relations between Traditional and New Collective Actors in Industrial Relations," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1013-1031, August.
    19. Omar Manky & Micaela Reynoso, 2026. "Communities of Struggle: Spatializing Power Resources in Peru's Agrarian Strike," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 64(1), pages 76-90, March.
    20. Ana Aliverti, 2023. "Law in the Margins: Economies of Illegality and Contested Sovereignties," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 63(4), pages 1024-1040.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:53:y:2022:i:2:p:126-141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.