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A guest-worker state? The declining power and agency of migrant labour in Australia

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  • Chris F Wright
  • Stephen Clibborn

Abstract

This article presents an historical and comparative analysis of the bargaining power and agency conferred upon migrant workers in Australia under distinct policy regimes. Through an assessment of four criteria – residency status, mobility, skill thresholds and institutional protections – we find that migrant workers arriving in Australia in the period from 1973 to 1996 had high levels of bargaining power and agency. Since 1996, migrant workers’ power and agency has been incrementally curtailed, to the extent that Australia’s labour immigration policy resembles a guest-worker regime where migrants’ rights are restricted, their capacity to bargain for decent working conditions with their employers is truncated and their agency to pursue opportunities available to citizens and permanent residents is diminished. In contrast to recent assessments that Australia’s temporary visa system is working effectively, our analysis indicates that it is failing to protect temporary migrants at work. JEL Codes: J24, J61, J83

Suggested Citation

  • Chris F Wright & Stephen Clibborn, 2020. "A guest-worker state? The declining power and agency of migrant labour in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 34-58, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:31:y:2020:i:1:p:34-58
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304619897670
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Stephen Clibborn & Chris F Wright, 2018. "Employer theft of temporary migrant workers’ wages in Australia: Why has the state failed to act?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(2), pages 207-227, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tom Barratt & Caleb Goods & Alex Veen, 2020. "‘I’m my own boss…’: Active intermediation and ‘entrepreneurial’ worker agency in the Australian gig-economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(8), pages 1643-1661, November.
    2. Kristin van Barneveld & Michael Quinlan & Peter Kriesler & Anne Junor & Fran Baum & Anis Chowdhury & PN (Raja) Junankar & Stephen Clibborn & Frances Flanagan & Chris F Wright & Sharon Friel & Joseph H, 2020. "The COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons on building more equal and sustainable societies," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(2), pages 133-157, June.
    3. Jens Arnholtz & Chris F. Wright, 2023. "Labor Migration as a Source of Institutional Change: Danish and Australian Construction Sectors Compared," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(3), pages 532-555, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Guest workers; immigration policy; industrial relations; migrant workers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J83 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Workers' Rights

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