Workers’ Perspectives on State-Constructed Vulnerability to Labour Exploitation: Experiences of Migrant Fishers in Ireland
| Published date | 01 August 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09646639221122466 |
| Author | Clíodhna Murphy,David M. Doyle,Stephanie Thompson |
| Date | 01 August 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Workers’Perspectives
on State-Constructed
Vulnerability to Labour
Exploitation: Experiences
of Migrant Fishers in Ireland
Clíodhna Murphy , David M. Doyle,
and Stephanie Thompson
Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology,
Maynooth, Ireland
Abstract
This article examines migrant workers’experiences of state-constructed vulnerability to
labour exploitation, through the case study of non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrant
fishers in Ireland. It draws on the findings of interviews with 24 migrant fishers, together
with information obtained from public bodies and legal analysis. Building on the work of
Mantouvalou, Zou, and others, we demonstrate that the Irish legal and policy framework
–most importantly, immigration law –places migrant fishers in a position of ‘hyper-depend-
ency’and ‘hyper-precarity’in their work relations. We outline how this state-constructed
vulnerability to labour exploitation is experienced in practice through an in-depth account
of the interviewees’experiences of working conditions; immigration status; and racism and
discrimination at work. In particular, the interviews reveal the work permit scheme for non-
EEA fishers to be a powerful structure of exploitation, within which workers have little bar-
gaining power and protective employment mechanisms are rendered ineffective.
Keywords
migrant workers, workers’perspectives, employment law, immigration rules, labour
exploitation, discrimination
Corresponding author:
Clíodhna Murphy, Associate Professor, Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth,
Ireland.
Email: cliodhna.murphy@mu.ie
Article
Social & Legal Studies
2023, Vol. 32(4) 562–585
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/09646639221122466
journals.sagepub.com/home/sls
Introduction
Legal frameworks produce vulnerability to labour exploitation for precarious migrant
workers through restrictive immigration rules and exclusions from employment and
equality law (Anderson, 2010; Mantouvalou, 2015; Pavlou, 2021). However, there is a
dearth of socio-legal literature incorporating workers’perspectives on this process.
This article is premised on the idea that ‘workers play a central role and have a voice
in defining and achieving decent work’(Lozano et al. 2022). It explores the case study
of non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrant fishers in Ireland, drawing on 24 quali-
tative interviews with fishers, together with information gathered through questionnaires
to public bodies, as well as legal analysis. We present an in-depth account of the inter-
viewees’experiences of working conditions; immigration status; discrimination at
work; and employment law inspection and redress. The findings provide a concrete illus-
tration of how legal frameworks produce vulnerability to labour exploitation for margin-
alised economic migrants who suffer multiple layers of disadvantage. The key
contribution of the research is, therefore, to develop our understanding of how state-
constructed vulnerability to labour exploitation is experienced in practice. The article
also offers important insights into the design of solutions to the structural problems of
labour exploitation of migrant workers, based on the lived experiences of migrants
themselves.
Academic and policy studies have highlighted the global challenge of widespread and
systemic poor labour practices in fishing, particularly in the case of migrant workers
(Stringer et al., 2016; Jones et al., 2020). In some cases, these practices amount to
forced labour and/or human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation (ILO,
2014). In Ireland, the spotlight has been on these issues since 2015, when The
Guardian newspaper reported severe and widespread abuse of migrant workers within
the Irish fishing industry (The Guardian, 2015). The reports prompted the immediate for-
mation of a Government Task Force and ultimately the adoption of an ‘Atypical Working
Scheme for non-EEA crew in the Fishing Fleet’, an immigration scheme which sought to
formalise and regularise the workers’immigration and employment status. However,
allegations of labour exploitation in the industry persist and the US Trafficking in
Persons (TIP) country report for Ireland 2021 concludes: ‘Undocumented workers in
the fishing industry …are vulnerable to trafficking. Migrant workers from Egypt and
the Philippines are vulnerable to forced labour on fishing vessels’(USDS, 2021: 305).
The article is structured in four parts. In Part 1, we outline the connections between
labour exploitation, vulnerability and the law. The research methodology is briefly
described in Part 2. Part 3 sets out the relevant Irish legal and policy context, explaining
how the law operates to place both documented and undocumented migrant fishers in a
position of ‘hyper-dependence’and ‘hyper-precarity’(Zou, 2015). Part 4 presents the
findings of the interviews. We show that the participants’working conditions reflect a
continuum of exploitation, from occasional minor violations of employment law to
highly coercive work relationships. We suggest that the Irish immigration regime for
non-EEA fishers (referred to as ‘migrant workers’or ‘migrant fishers’in this article)
creates fertile conditions for such exploitation. We find that direct outreach by state
inspection and regulatory bodies to vulnerable migrant workers is limited and inspection
Murphy et al. 563
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
