Bilateral agreements, precarious work, and the vulnerability of migrant workers in Israel

Bibliographic Data

ID21749975
AuthorsNonna Kushnirovich (0000-0002-3069-3309, Ruppin Academic Center), R Raijman (0000-0002-3654-5083, University of Haifa)
Year2022
Volume23
Issue2
Pages266-288
Publication date2022-07-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTheoretical Inquiries in Law (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1565-1509 • E-ISSN: 1565-3404
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/til-2022-0019
OpenAlexW4290766346
LanguageEN
Citations received7

We examine the short-term and long-term impact of bilateral agreements on migrant workers’ vulnerability during their employment in Israel. To do so, we developed the Vulnerability Index of Migrant Workers based on five dimensions: poor working conditions, poor living conditions, poor safety conditions, low wages, and dependence on migration costs. We focus on migrant workers arriving in Israel from two different countries (China and Thailand), employed in two different sectors of the economy (construction and agriculture, respectively). Data was gathered through a survey conducted among workers arriving from both countries before and after the implementation of the bilateral agreements. The study revealed that after the implementation of bilateral agreements, the working, living and safety conditions of migrant workers remained poor or even worsened. For Thai workers, there was a slight improvement in the working and living conditions in the short term after the bilateral agreement, but they worsened in the long run. The total Index of Vulnerability of both groups showed improvement due to the dramatic decrease in dependence on migration costs, despite the deterioration in some working and living conditions and the reduction in migrant workers’ relative wages

Business · China · Demographic economics · Displaced workers · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Migrant workers · Socioeconomics · Unemployment · Vulnerability index · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Migration and Labor Dynamics

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