英语论文网

简介

近年来，英国农民工的数量大量增加（麦凯克劳和乔普拉，2006年）。这些增长已经刺激了在英国的劳动力市场全球化缺口的打开，并提供许多不同的方法来修订英国的法例。虽然很多农民工从事高技能的工作，但很明显也有人进行从事低技能工作，工资很低。特别是在莫克姆湾23农民工收获蚶和令人震惊的死亡之后，这些工作的薪酬及服务条件已经变得更加让人们关注。因此，这篇文章严格审查移民和现行政策，其中特别注明农民工被剥削的方式，健康和他们所面临的安全风险，并已制定法律保护的历史。
移民和移民政策的历史

英国的移民历史早就被建立了（Sriskandarajah＆德鲁，2006）。在过去，这种迁移的结果是，人们普遍离开了这个国家，并通常前往澳大利亚，新西兰和加拿大。

migrant workers in UK

Introduction

There has been a large increase in the number of migrant workers in the UK in recent years (McKay, Craw & Chopra, 2006). These increases have been spurred on by globalisation, the gaps opening in the UK labour market and legislative changes that provide many and varied methods for coming to the UK. While many migrant workers move into highly skilled jobs, there are also a significant number who carry out low-paid, low-skilled jobs in the UK. The pay and conditions in these jobs has become the focus of much interest, especially in the wake of the shocking deaths of 23 migrant workers harvesting cockles at Morecambe Bay. This essay, therefore, critically examines the history of migration and current policies, the ways in which migrant workers have been exploited, health and safety risks they face and legal protections that have been put in place.

History of migration and migration policies

The history of migration into and out of the UK is well established (Sriskandarajah & Drew, 2006). In the past the result of this movement has been that people have generally left the country: usually heading for Australia, New Zealand Canada. Then, more recently, people increasingly moved out of the UK to Spain and France. It wasn't until the 1980s that the UK became a country which had a net influx of migrants (Sriskandarajah, Cooley & Kornblatt, 2007). Net immigration reached its highpoint in the UK in 2004 at 222,600; a year later it fell back by around 40,000. There were a number of actors that caused this change. Dobson et al. (2001) explain that one reason for this change to net immigration was that the highly skilled could command better wages and obtain an improved lifestyle in the UK. In addition there was also a large increase in the number of asylum applications at this time (Home Office 2006). Further, with the addition of new member states to the EU, there was increasing migration with 605,375 people successfully registering to work in the UK from these new member states (Home Office, 2007).

Despite the net immigration to the UK, many do not intend to stay permanently. Spencer, Ruhs, Anderson and Rogaly (2007) found that only one-quarter of those immigrating from East and Central Europe intended to stay permanently. Others again, can be considered irregular migrants. These are people who have come to the UK without the correct authority. Pinkerton, McLaughlan and Salt (2004) estimate there could have been as many as 430,000 illegal immigrants in the UK in 2001. This number has been questioned, however, by Dorling (2007) who suggests this figure might incorrectly include US military personnel stationed here, and others, thereby artificially inflating the numbers.

Whatever the true level of migrants in the UK, both legal and illegal, there have been clear changes in immig