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Migrant Agricultural Workers and Their Socio-­‐economic, Occupational and Health Conditions– A Literature Review

Svensson, Måns LU ; Urinboyev, Rustamjon LU ; Wigerfelt Svensson, Anders ; Lundqvist, Peter ; Littorin, Margareta LU and Albin, Maria LU (2013) In SSRN Working Papers series
Abstract
Objective

This study provides the summary of current knowledge about migrant work in agriculture available from journal articles, books, reports and other relevant academic publications, focusing on political, economic, legal, social and medical aspects of migrant work in agriculture.



Methods

A systematic search was carried out on the LibHub and Google Scholar databases in order to compile the existing peer-reviewed publications, research reports, and policy papers concerning migrant work in agriculture. The literatures was selected through the following process: (1) reading the title and abstract in English for the period 1960 – 2011; (2) reading the entire text of selected articles; (3) making a... (More)
Objective

This study provides the summary of current knowledge about migrant work in agriculture available from journal articles, books, reports and other relevant academic publications, focusing on political, economic, legal, social and medical aspects of migrant work in agriculture.



Methods

A systematic search was carried out on the LibHub and Google Scholar databases in order to compile the existing peer-reviewed publications, research reports, and policy papers concerning migrant work in agriculture. The literatures was selected through the following process: (1) reading the title and abstract in English for the period 1960 – 2011; (2) reading the entire text of selected articles; (3) making a manual search of the relevant quotations in the selected articles; (4) eliminating articles without a focus on migrant populations and the themes of central interest, and then reading and analyzing the definitive set of articles.



Results

In spite of their varying geographical focus, scope, unit of analysis and settings, most of the studies reviewed highlighted that migrant farmworkers work under very poor working conditions and face numerous health and safety hazards, including occupational chemical and ergonomic exposures, various injuries and illnesses and even death, discrimination and social exclusion, poor pay and long working hours, and language and cultural barriers. Many studies also reported poor enforcement of labour regulations and a lack of health and safety training on the farms, difficulty accessing medical care and compensation when injured or ill.



Conclusions

The studies have also pointed out the lack of research in relation to labour, health, psychosocial, and wage conditions of migrant farmworkers. The accumulated results of the study indicate that the issues and problems migrant farmworkers face are multidimensional, and there is a need for both policy development and further research in order to address migrant workers’ problems. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Migration, work environment, agriculture, health of migrant workers, human rights and migration, pesticides, occupational injuries, migrant farmworkers, occupational safety and agriculture, labour migration
in
SSRN Working Papers series
pages
34 pages
publisher
Social Science Research Network
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Submitted to Journal of Agromedicine
id
aa49219b-1675-41d6-a9a7-33241e1ea9a3 (old id 3954707)
alternative location
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2297559
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:12:28
date last changed
2023-04-18 18:31:27
@misc{aa49219b-1675-41d6-a9a7-33241e1ea9a3,
  abstract     = {{Objective<br/><br>
This study provides the summary of current knowledge about migrant work in agriculture available from journal articles, books, reports and other relevant academic publications, focusing on political, economic, legal, social and medical aspects of migrant work in agriculture. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
Methods<br/><br>
A systematic search was carried out on the LibHub and Google Scholar databases in order to compile the existing peer-reviewed publications, research reports, and policy papers concerning migrant work in agriculture. The literatures was selected through the following process: (1) reading the title and abstract in English for the period 1960 – 2011; (2) reading the entire text of selected articles; (3) making a manual search of the relevant quotations in the selected articles; (4) eliminating articles without a focus on migrant populations and the themes of central interest, and then reading and analyzing the definitive set of articles. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
Results<br/><br>
In spite of their varying geographical focus, scope, unit of analysis and settings, most of the studies reviewed highlighted that migrant farmworkers work under very poor working conditions and face numerous health and safety hazards, including occupational chemical and ergonomic exposures, various injuries and illnesses and even death, discrimination and social exclusion, poor pay and long working hours, and language and cultural barriers. Many studies also reported poor enforcement of labour regulations and a lack of health and safety training on the farms, difficulty accessing medical care and compensation when injured or ill. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
Conclusions<br/><br>
The studies have also pointed out the lack of research in relation to labour, health, psychosocial, and wage conditions of migrant farmworkers. The accumulated results of the study indicate that the issues and problems migrant farmworkers face are multidimensional, and there is a need for both policy development and further research in order to address migrant workers’ problems.}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Måns and Urinboyev, Rustamjon and Wigerfelt Svensson, Anders and Lundqvist, Peter and Littorin, Margareta and Albin, Maria}},
  keywords     = {{Migration; work environment; agriculture; health of migrant workers; human rights and migration; pesticides; occupational injuries; migrant farmworkers; occupational safety and agriculture; labour migration}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  publisher    = {{Social Science Research Network}},
  series       = {{SSRN Working Papers series}},
  title        = {{Migrant Agricultural Workers and Their Socio-­‐economic, Occupational and Health Conditions– A Literature Review}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5719404/3954709.pdf}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}