Temporary Migrants as Dehumanised 'Other' in the Time of Covid-19

We're All in This Together

Bibliographic Data

ID2374693
AuthorsDimitria Groutsis (0000-0002-4890-8216, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), Annika Kaabel (0000-0001-7637-8438, Diversity Council Australia, Australia), Chris F Wright (0000-0003-0984-6208, The University of Sydney)
Year2024
Volume38
Issue3
Pages615-635
Publication date2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/09500170221142723
OpenAlexW4317519905
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited52

Temporary migrants comprise a substantial component of the Australian workforce. Evidence of the tensions and contradictions in Australia's reliance on temporary migrant workers was spotlighted during the COVID-19 global health crisis, particularly with regards to the actions and responsibilities of key players in the attraction, recruitment, deployment and ultimately abandonment of these workers. In this article, we interrogate the public framing of temporary migrant workers within the context of the pandemic. We employ a discourse analysis and build upon theories of precarity and dehumanisation. In doing so we demonstrate how the precarious state within which temporary migrant workers found themselves saw them cast as a dehumanised and unwelcome 'other', a burden to the labour market, the state and the broader society

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Abandonment (legal · Context (archaeology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Dehumanization · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Framing (construction · Geography · Immigration · Migrant workers · Pandemic · Political economy · Political science · Precarity · Sociology · Workforce · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Medicine · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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Open DOIOpen Access