Migration and the World of Work

Immigrant Workers

Why do countries try to attract immigrant workers? Labour shortage in some economic sectors Includes oil production or fruit and vegetable farming Population aging Textbook page 78 OIL BOOM EXAMPLES: Middle East, Alberta Population Again: Read excerpts on Quebec and Japan

What difficulties do immigrants face when searching for work? Mastery of the language Knowledge of employment criteria Relate this back to the entrance card.

What advantages do immigrants get from holding a job? Learning the language Social integration and labour force mobility Tie this into Syrian Refugees. Some say not let them live in cities since it takes away legitimate jobs from others. These advantages are not as effective when living in the countryside.

Trends in Economic Migration Workbook: pg. 78-79 Job Outsourcing (pg. 78) Transfer of activities, capital & jobs to countries with lower production costs. Brain Drain (pg. 78-79) The permanent emigration of a country’s skilled workers. Remittances (pg. 79) Immigrants sending money back home. Which country benefits in each of these situations?

Employment Policies

Which factors cause difficulties in finding employment? Recognition of diplomas and competencies by professional corporations. Training that does not correspond to the standards of the host country.

What can be done to overcome these difficulties? *Solutions are related to the recognizing diplomas Adopt a system to recognize prior learning Establish uniform international professional standards Establish intergovernmental agreements Agreements between governments.

Agreements to promote labour force mobility: Two examples All diplomas issued by countries in the European Union are equivalent Employment qualifications between Spain and Quebec are recognized

What have some states done to promote the integration of immigrants? Adopt positive discrimination policies Relax the rules for recognizing employment qualifications Ex. Quebec and Spain Give grants to firms that hire immigrant workers

Parallel Economies

Undocumented Workers Definition: A person who is working off of the payroll or is not legally allowed to work in the country yet.

Why do some employers (i.e. Trump) use undocumented workers? The wage and work conditions do not have to respect the country’s norms/laws. Lighter social security tax load. Social security: Every contributes through their taxes to help workers who have become disabled, families where a spouse or parent dies and retired workers. Economic consequences: Fewer jobs available in the job market Loss of government revenues (mostly taxes)

Which economic sectors are undocumented immigrant workers found? Domestic work Ex. Nannies, cleaning ladies. Fruit and vegetable farming.

Characteristics of working conditions of undocumented immigrant workers No job security or social safety net. Labour standards not respected by their employers. Fear of deportation