The COVID-19 epidemic has wreaked havoc on migrant workers all around the world, particularly those in precarious low-wage jobs, who were typically the first to feel the pandemic’s economic impact. According to the report, migrant workers were also targets of discrimination and xenophobia (Jones et al., 2021). The immigrants’ labor situation in the conditions of COVID-19 can serve as a real-life example of the labor exploitation issue. As the virus spread, many migrant workers’ jobs were abruptly halted or canceled. Some employees were fired without compensation, while others had their hours or salary cut or were forced to take time off. Others were not paid for tasks they had completed, which was in breach of their contracts. Migrant laborers were frequently trapped as a result of border restrictions and lockdowns. Others were abruptly returned to their homes with no operational procedures or protocols in place. The public health law was utilized in some cases to explain their removal. Because they were thought to be carriers of COVID-19, returnees were often ostracized and forced to stay in quarantine for long periods of time.
This was especially true in countries with substantial migratory worker populations. Migrants made up more than half of the workforces of many textile companies that shuttered in Malaysia, displacing thousands of people (Wahab, 2020). Contracts for Sri Lankan migrant workers were terminated early, resulting in job losses that were termed as unprecedented (Wahab, 2020). Migrant employees often lacked social protection at the time of COVID-19, such as basic healthcare and income security safeguards against employment and salary losses, in addition to losing their positions. As a result, they were significantly more vulnerable to the pandemic. Many migrant workers accrued more debt and lost resources as a result of being unemployed, unable to leave, and without any type of assistance, which they utilized to fund their basic living needs. Moneylenders may threaten, abuse, or harm migrants who return home after an unsuccessful migration attempt.
Migrants have been identified as one of the most vulnerable social groups in Europe. COVID-19’s impact on migrant labor exploitation in Europe’s farmlands will have long-term implications. A considerable number of people of the Republic of Serbia have also been victims of labor exploitation in other countries, notably farm labor in Europe (Djordjević and Dobovšek, 2020). The transportation industry has generally been ignored in reports on labor exploitation, which have primarily concentrated on migrant agricultural laborers or care workers in Western European countries. As many studies warn, labor abuse of truck drivers is becoming more widespread amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The issue caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has only intensified the situation of exploited workers in Europe’s slaughterhouses.
Measures adopted to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their socioeconomic effects, have made victims of human trafficking and those at risk of being trafficked more vulnerable. A growing number of individuals are losing their jobs, and current workplace abuse practices in specific industries put labor exploitation front and center. Social imagination helps to interpret personal experience in a particular social context. In the case of labor exploitation, the real-life examples of the immigrants can contribute to understanding the causes and consequences of the issue. It allows one to understand the structure of the problem by noting the factors that impacted immigrant labor exploitation. It could be concluded that society should address the issue of labor exploitation. Specific regulations and instructions should be prepared by the governments of different countries to protect immigrants and other social groups from trafficking and defend work dignity in current and possible future circumstances.
References
Djordjević, S. and Dobovšek, B. (2020). Organised crime in Western Balkans Six at the onset of coronavirus. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(9) p. 807-820.
Jones, K., Mudaliar, S., & Piper, N. (2021). Locked down and in limbo: The global impact of COVID-19 on migrant worker rights and recruitment. ILO. p. 1-47.
Wahab, A. (2020). The outbreak of Covid-19 in Malaysia: pushing migrant workers at the margin. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 100073.