March 1, 2011 POLS 3560

 Human Development Report 2009 – Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development How and why people move  Internal migration (within country)  International migration  Trafficking (primarily women)  Refugees (displaced peoples)

The Problem 1. Barriers to movement: Restrictions on movement within and across borders limit human choices and freedom (4). 2. Treatment of “movers”: Upon arrival in destination country many migrants “face systemic disadvantages, making it difficult or impossible for them to access local services on equal terms with local people. And these problems are especially severe for temporary and irregular workers” (7).

The Proposal 1. Expand migration schemes: Receiving countries should expand migration schemes (in particular seasonal worker and tourism programs) and increase the number of visas for “low-skilled” people. 2. Ensure basic rights for migrants: Including basic wage guarantees, equal pay for equal work, health and safety standards, provisions for repeat visits, right to change employers, right to apply for permanent residency, right to unionize, etc.

The Proposal (continued) 3. Lower transaction costs of migration: Governments in country of origin and country of destination should simplify their procedures and reduce document costs (e.g. passport and visa fees) for migrants. 4. Develop policies that are mutually beneficial for origin and destination countries. 5. Remove barriers to internal movement (including service provision restrictions and differentiated entitlements for those not registered in different areas of the country)

The Proposal (continued) 6. Mainstream migration into national development strategies: “While not a substitute for broader development efforts, migration can be a vital strategy for households and families seeking to diversify and improve their livelihoods, especially in developing countries. Governments need to recognize this potential...” (10).

 “Migration and Unfreedom” (critique of UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Report) Problem  Problem is not an absence of policy (as UNDP suggests) but rather the extreme inequality and dispossession that forces migration.  “the predicament of migrants is the outcome of pro-business/ anti-people policy measures undertaken by governments worldwide.”

Problem (continued)  Crux of the matter is the “ability to stratify and exploit workers using class, race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, or any such criteria...”  Pitting one pool of dispossessed workers against another.  Institutionalized administration of fear – through threat of deportation or the denial of re-entry.

Canada  Live-in Caregivers Programme (LCP)  Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP)  Temporary Foreign Workers Programme for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training (TFWP)  These programs set a low standard for other Canadian industries, keeping wages and bargaining power of workers low.

Canada  Canada has refused to sign 3 core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO)  Canadian government denies these workers their rights (health, employment, etc.), while they simultaneously receive “a substantial part of migrants’ earnings in Canada – as taxes, contribution to the Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance (which they cannot benefit from)”.  “In 2001, for example, they paid more than $9.5 million in taxes, $3.4 million in employment insurance, and spent more than $82 million in Canada”.

Proposal  “serious restructuring(s) of global capitalism” to address global inequalities that force migration  The freedom to migrate must also include a real choice NOT to migrate.

 america america

 What PROBLEM is presented in the film?  Where is the RESPONSIBILITY for the problem located?  Whose VOICES are reflected in the film? Whose voices are absent?  How does the film relate to GLOBALIZATION /global restructuring? Does the film support and/or challenge the definitions of globalization we have studied?

 What GENDERED RELATIONS of migration appear in the film?  In what ways are these relations racialized and nationalized?  What gendered relations are NOT visible in the film?