Low‐Paid EU Migrant Workers: The House, the Street, the Town
本书通过英国大雅茅斯镇一个房屋、一条街道和一个城镇的案例，深入研究了低薪欧盟移民工人的生活条件、工作困境及政策影响，揭示了他们在住房、就业、福利和健康方面面临的挑战。
This book is an in-depth study of the experiences of migrant workers from the European Union (EU) who work for low wages in the United Kingdom, particularly in Great Yarmouth. Many workers come from Central and Eastern European countries and have limited English skills. Many of them are on zero-hour contracts. They often face inhumane working conditions and are not always protected by the legal system. This book attempts to map the living conditions of migrants with a holistic approach, dividing them into three dimensions: The House, The Street, and The Town. The book highlights the challenges faced by migrant workers, both in the context of the work they do (such as low wages and poor working conditions), as well as in their social lives (such as discrimination, marginalization, and difficulties in building a stable life). The book also explores how EU and UK domestic policies affect the well-being of migrant workers and their daily lives. One of its main strengths is its humanistic approach. It successfully connects theory with practice, showing how EU and UK policies, while offering freedom of movement, still create inequalities and challenges for low-wage migrants. The objectives of this book are: first, to understand the lives of EU migrant workers—their experiences of coming to the United Kingdom, their living and working conditions, and how they navigate their new immigration status in the period leading up to Brexit and now in a post-Brexit world; second, to understand what they do when things go wrong; and, third, when they seek help to resolve their problems from Great Yarmouth Refugee and Outreach Support (GYROS—a migrant support charity in the Town), we wanted to understand how GYROS’ advisers respond to the problems presented. Chapter 1 of this book describes the theme, issues, and methods used by the author. In this chapter, the author tries to illustrate the conditions of EU migrant workers living in deprived coastal towns. Through case studies of one house, one street, and one town, the author attempts to illustrate the problems in deprived areas across the United Kingdom. In Chapter 2, the author describes the town, street, house, and city where the research was conducted. This attempts to provide a portrait of the environment that EU migrant workers face when they first arrive in the United Kingdom and the context in which they are currently working, living, and socializing. The House, The Street, The Town lens gives us a unique insight into the daily lives of EU migrants who live in Great Yarmouth. The house becomes a physical symbol of the deprivation of how EU migrants live in inadequate conditions. Chapter 3 discusses the emergence of European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and the creation of two statuses: pre-settled status (EU(PS)) for those staying less than 5 years; and settled status (EU(SS)) for those staying more than 5 years. In particular, this chapter shows how limited English skills, intermittent employment history, and lack of access to Wi-Fi, smartphones, and digital IT skills make it difficult for groups of EU migrants to apply for pre-settled or settled status. Chapter 4 discusses employment, in particular the precarious position of agency workers and those on zero-hour contracts. It also addresses the (legal) problems faced by migrant workers in the workplace—for example, bullying and harassment, non-payment of wages and benefits, and the existence of unauthorized work arrangements. Chapter 5 deals with housing for EU migrant workers in Great Yarmouth. It begins with a description of the general housing situation, particularly in Nelson ward, where the research was conducted. It then turns to the experiences of residents at home. The chapter shows how precarity comes into play when it comes to housing: difficulties in gaining access for those on zero-hour contracts, low-quality accommodation, and difficulties in obtaining local housing assistance due to lack of paperwork (ranging from unofficial tenancy agreements to names missing from bills). Chapter 6 is about welfare benefits and debt. This chapter looks at how EU migrant workers in Great Yarmouth interact with the benefits system. EU law (now the Withdrawal Agreement) entitles migrant workers to claim benefits on the same terms as UK citizens. However, this chapter shows that many struggle to navigate the benefits system. In particular, access to welfare benefits demonstrates the complex bureaucratic barriers experienced by migrant communities. Chapter 7 discusses migrant health, building on Hazel Genn's work on health equity. Health problems are also the starting point from which many other problems emanate: poor health results from poor accommodation, limited finances, and difficult working environments; or poor health means working hours have to be reduced, so difficulties arise with money and accommodation. Chapter 8 brings together the themes (precarity and pragmatism) that emerged from our data. This chapter also looks at how migrant communities interact with the law, and law enforcement, in Great Yarmouth. The research is based on a qualitative approach. The author of this book lived in the community to interview people to get a better understanding of the lives of EU migrant workers. This approach allows readers to have a more personalized and realistic overview. The book also elaborates on existing legal and socio-legal research on access to justice and legal needs. It highlights the world of law (both recognized and unrecognized) and how it impacts specific communities, to provide a true picture of the problems experienced by one group of vulnerable individuals and how those problems are resolved. Overall, this book provides invaluable insight into the experiences of low-wage EU migrant workers in the United Kingdom. It successfully illustrates how complex the situations faced by migrants are, and how social and economic policies affect their lives. By looking at their lives from multiple perspectives, readers will gain a more holistic understanding of labour, migration, and inequality issues. However, this book may feel a bit heavy for readers who are not familiar with in-depth social research. The policy discussions and academic analysis may be technical and difficult to understand for those who are more interested in the personal stories or emotional side of the book. Finally, this work could not have been done without the financial support provided by Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP/Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education), which is part of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, for supporting our master studies and supporting this publication.