The Labour Migration Research Group at the University of Westminster is delighted to showcase the work of its members and collaborators through a packed programme or presentations, imagery, narratives, and roundtable discussions.
About the event
We will present research with a global reach, ranging from how migrants navigate their lives in uncertain and often coercive circumstances to the effects of inward and outward migration on sending and receiving countries and on migrants themselves. There will even be an opportunity to taste both familiar and more adventurous Greek and Italian dishes!
The group’s members research the causes and effects of labour migration, the challenges faced by marginalised social groups and migrant workers during their stay in host countries and the extent to which regulation, policy and advocacy improve their rights and conditions.
Find out more about the Labour Migration Research Group.
Location
The Regent Street Cinema, 307 Regent St., London W1B 2HW
Showcase presentations
12pm: Dr Roza Tsagarousianou (University of Westminster) and Dr Federica Mazzara (University of Westminster)
From the Middle East and Africa to Europe: Asylum seekers’ Journeys via liquid borders
Federica Mazarra will draw attention to the large quantity of ‘debris’ and ‘waste’ (e.g. the life jackets) left behind after rescue operations. These objects are regarded as a symbol of the necropolitics of migration. She will highlight artistic and activist initiatives which have made use of these abandoned life jackets to instill a new meaning to them. Roza Tsagarousianou will present her research in the Moria and Kara Tepe camps in the Island of Lesvos, Greece, using photographs and asylum seekers’ and personnel camp narratives to highlight both the politics of control and the politics of resistance as they unfold in the camps. She will highlight the spatial and temporal arrangements in the camps as aspects of power implemented from within technologies of migration management, and as indicative of counter narratives and resistance by asylum seekers in the camps as they await decisions on their fate.
12.20pm: Dr Miu-Yee Wong (University of Westminster)
Where is my Homeland? The scenarios of Hong Kong citizens immigrating to the UK over the decades
The recent influx of Hong Kong immigrants into the UK through the British National (Overseas) Visa Scheme has led to a ‘brain drain’ and ‘asset run-off’ in Hong Kong. This influx will also inevitably strain the UK’s ability to provide public services. Through an on-stage live chat and using multi-media materials, Miu-Yee Wong will highlight the views of different generations of immigrants and the similarities and differences in their experiences. She will also present the multiple livelihood challenges new immigrants contend with in integrating into their new living environment.
12.40pm: Dr Nico Pizzolato (Middlesex University)
(Im)mobilisation of labour and coercion: gaining new audiences to research
There is a complex relation between mobility of workers across borders and their immobilisation in worksites under coercive labour relations. My research focuses on the sites of labour (im)mobilisation, which means studying, through a spatial perspective, the circumstances, the tactics, and the relations that lead to mobility of workers, often migrants, being captured by employers. I analyse how labour coercion took place in different locations, explain why it is important to see those locations as interlinked for the purpose of historical analysis and unravel the social practices and processes that took place. I will illustrate my research through the use of animation, motion image and interviews.
1.15pm-2.15pm: Dr Anna Charalambidou (Middlesex University), Christina Flora (University of Westminster), Dr Siria Guzzo (University of Salerno), Dr Petros Karatsareas (University of Westminster), Dr Vally Lytra (Goldsmiths University) and Dr Giulia Pepe (University of Westminster)
Greek and Italian migrant foodways in London: a sensory experience (in The Old Gym, Regent Street Campus)
In this interactive event, the research team of the Migrant food, languages, and identities in the dawn of the post-Brexit and COVID-19 era project will reconstruct the sites of their ethnographic research into Greek and Italian restaurants in London. The two corners of the Regent Street Cinema bar will be transformed into a Greek taverna and an Italian trattoria, where attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into diverse dining experiences shaped by stimuli for all the senses of the human body. Everyone will have the opportunity to taste both familiar and more adventurous Greek and Italian dishes, while members of the team will guide the audience through negotiations and contestations of authenticity and food entrepreneurship.
2.30pm: Dr Rukhsana Kausar (University of Westminster), Dr Issam Malki (University of Westminster), and Professor Stephen Drinkwater (University of Roehampton)
Occupational Attainment of Second Generation of Ethnic Minority Immigrants In The UK: An Analysis Using Labour Force Survey 2014-2018
This study investigates the extent to which second generation ethnic minority immigrants in the UK have the same access to professional, high level and managerial employment in comparison with their native counterparts. Rukhsana Kausar and Issam Malki find that first generation native citizens have the highest probability for higher career attainment and that first generation immigrants perform better than second-generation native citizens and immigrants. Additionally, second generation immigrants have higher probability to attain higher professional careers but are less likely to succeed in managerial attainment. The research is relevant to understanding whether improvements to the career opportunities and progression of immigrant individuals are sufficient. Stronger policy interventions at different levels (state, employer, education) may be required to facilitate this.
2.55pm: Dr Vasoula Hadjivarnava (University of Westminster)
The Economic Impacts of Immigration to the UK
Much public and policy concerns have focused on the distributional impacts of immigration – in particular, potential negative impacts on employment and wages for low-skilled workers. Vasoula Hadjivarnava will use a broadly analogous methodology to analyse the impact of Brexit on migration flows to the UK from the EU, produce scenarios for future flows, and provide plausible empirically based estimates of the likely impacts on growth, employment and wages. The broad scenarios she will depict through graphs and tables, imply that the negative impacts on per capital GDP will be significant, potentially approaching those resulting from reduced trade. She argues that the reductions in migration resulting from Brexit are likely to have a significant adverse impact on UK productivity and GDP per capita.
3.15pm: Dr Lilian Miles (University of Westminster) and Dr Tim Freeman (Middlesex University)
Supporting the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Factory Women Migrant Workers in Malaysia
Many factory women migrant workers in Malaysia contend with reproductive health needs. They have limited reproductive health knowledge and cannot access healthcare easily. Lilian Miles and Tim Freeman will present their recent research on the interventions their research team implemented in factories in Penang, Malaysia to support these needs. These consisted of reproductive health education, a mobile clinic and reproductive health counselling and referral services. How the interventions impacted factory women migrant workers’ reproductive health will be discussed, through images and women migrant workers' narratives.
We are looking forward to welcoming you on the day.
