Repercussions of precarious employment on migrants’ perceptions of healthcare in Greece

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6150797
AutoresTheodoros Fouskas (0000-0003-0507-217X, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen11
Número4
Páginas298-311
Fecha de publicación2018-08-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2056-4902 • E-ISSN: 2056-4910
EditorialEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/ijhrh-01-2018-0010
OpenAlexW2885198105
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas8

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cases of Bangladeshi, Filipina, Nigerian, Palestinian and Pakistani migrant workers and how the frame of their work and employment in precarious, low-status/low-wage jobs affects their perceptions and practices regarding health and access to healthcare services. Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative research methodology, the analysis via in-depth interviews focuses on male Bangladeshi, Nigerian, Pakistani and Palestinian unskilled manual and textile laborers as well as street vendors, and female Filipina live-in domestic workers. Findings Migrants are entrapped in a context of isolative and exploitative working conditions, i.e., in unskilled labor, textile work, street-vending, personal services, care and domestic work, which lead them to adopt a self-perception in which healthcare and social protection are not a priority. Social implications Throughout the paper it has become clear that these precarious low-status/low-wage jobs have an important underside effect on migrants’ lives, intensifying labor and health instability and exposing migrants to employment-generating activities that do not guarantee health safety. In Greek society, the impact of migration on public health is characterized by many as a “time bomb ready to explode,” especially in urban centers. Meanwhile, the economy and particularly the informal sector of the labor market is benefiting from migrant workers. More research is needed as this mode of exploitative labor and precarious employment needs to be adequately addressed to mitigate barriers in the access of labor and healthcare rights. Originality/value Via its contribution to the sociology of migration with particular emphasis on labor healthcare, the paper provides evidence that due to their concentration in precarious, low-status/low-wage jobs migrant workers have very limited access to healthcare services. The removal of inequalities and discrimination against migrant workers in accessing healthcare services and medical care is a challenge for South European Union countries and particularly for Greece. However, in spite of this, there is no uniform policy in the management of migrants with respect to their access to health services. The paper will aid debates between policy makers and academics working on migration and inequalities due to the division of labor and health disparities, will contribute to the understanding of the perils attached to precarious, low-status/low-wage jobs and in addressing health inequalities effectively

Business · Context (archaeology · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Health care · Informal sector · Labour economics · Originality · Perception · Political science · Qualitative research · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Wage · Work (physics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies