The Trauma of Exploitation: Emotional landscapes of temporary migration and workplace unfreedom

Over recent decades, migration policies in Aotearoa New Zealand have increasingly shifted towards the management of temporary migration with reducing opportunities for settlement and the acquisition of long-term residence rights.

As in other settler colonial contexts such as Australia and Canada, this shift has led to increasing employer dependence on temporary visa holders and growing evidence of labour market abuse. Exploring these issues in relation to Aotearoa New Zealand, this talk advances a focus on emotions as a key dimension of the actualisation of workplace exploitation experienced by temporary migrants. In doing so, it extends understandings of forced labour, unfreedom and migration and their concern for the operation of coercion in employment relations, focussing on three dimensions of workplace exploitation: inducement, entrapment, and exploitation. Policy options are explored.

Speakers

Professor Francis L. Collins
School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland

Francis L. Collins is a Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at the University  of Auckland. Francis’ research explores the regulation, patterns and experiences of international migration, with a particular emphasis on temporary migration. He has undertaken research on international student mobilities, migration and cities, labour migration and workplace exploitation, and racism, employment and migration.

Associate Professor Christina Stringer
Centre for Research on Modern Slavery, Faculty of Business, University of Auckland