Unfinished business?Migrant lives in British workplaces

• Eddy Donnelly• Paul Freedman• Barbara Wilczek

1

Context and assumptions 1

• Developing view that contemporary migration differs in significant ways from preceding modes Changed global context - transnationalism

Changed sending context Changed receiving context

Changed migrant characteristics Changed migrant dispositions (Eade et al 2007) Contingent migration

• Perceived inadequacy of extant theorising and methodology – notably around static conceptions of destination and choice.

2

Context and assumptions 2

• Recourse to developments in human geography and sociology to complement other contemporary work Exploration of the quotidian Exploration of the individual in context

• Importance of language use/discourse in revealing ambiguities/dilemmas/choices

3

Study approach

• Participant observation o Insider’s viewo Dynamics of the workplaceo 3 months in a local food processing plant

• Factory contexto 950 contracted employees (incl. 450 Polish)o Fordist mode of production

• Biographical interviews o 20 interviews with Polish migrant workerso Subjects point of viewo Meanings given to experiences

4

contextual factors that explain

Three contextual factors:

• status & background

• sense of identityo nationalityo workplace

• exposure to factory lifeo work regimeo work relationship

5

emerging preoccupations/ dilemmas?

• Five emerging themes:

o ‘lifestyle’ -living ‘normally’?o ‘passivity’ - getting by/rubbing along?o ‘fairness’ - managed fairly?o ‘prospects’ - moving up or moving on?o ‘settlement’ - moving back or staying

put?

6

Unfinished business – conceptual issues over settlement

• contradiction and complexity in migrant worker attitudes to host country- economic gain v career devaluation?

• indecision/ ambivalence/ deferment- home v host-country (compatibles?)- rational choice v habituation/ inertia?

• settlement/return as a protracted process (gradualism)

7

Unfinished business – methodological issues

General confirmation of approach - uncovering of complex, cross-cutting and contradictory reality.

8