Latvian Migrants in Foreign Labour Markets: Job Placement and Discrimination

Abstract

The majority of migrants from Latvia move abroad intending to work, and so fall into the category of ‘work migrants’. A crucial role in their job placement is played by an increasingly complex network of intermediaries. This includes formal employment agencies, more informal, social network-based mediators and even illegal service providers. Despite the agencies providing job placements abroad being subject to regulations, fraud and the mistreatment of jobseekers has emerged as a cause for concern. Even when there is no ill will from the intermediaries, immigrant workers often suffer discrimination from their employers, sometimes leading to a re-evaluation of their return migration plans. This chapter explores the employment conditions of Latvian migrant workers. It analyses the operation of private employment agencies offering employment abroad and, in more general terms, sheds light from the Latvian migrant workers’ perspective on their treatment by employers. In doing so, this analysis demonstrates that almost a fifth of those respondents who used the services of private employment agencies had experienced unfair treatment. Moreover, at least one in three Latvian migrant workers encountered some form of discrimination at work, and around one in six were in a precarious and vulnerable position due to the nature of their employment contract. The chapter concludes with recommendations for further studies and policy development.

Perceived Discrimination of Highly Educated Latvian Women Abroad

“…At the same time, the findings of this study are in line with previous findings (Mierin , a 2016) that Latvian emigrants evaluate the attitude of employers abroad as being better than that of employers in Latvia, where they face unfair treatment even more often. However, in his study, Tabuns (2019) does not touch upon the relationship between migrants' perceived discrimination and their integration in the host country and other factors.…”

“…A sending-country perspective on perceived discrimination has been neglected and is under-researched. One of the few studies on discrimination against Latvian migrant workers abroad (Tabuns 2019) indicates that 35% of Latvian migrant workers have encountered some form of discrimination or unfair treatment in their workplace. The most common form of unfair treatment is an unfair salary: 18% have reported that they have been paid less than workers from the host nation for similar work.…”

History perceptions and national identity among Latvian youth: Entrapped between narratives of Latvia and Russia?

“…The polarisation of Latvian speakers' and Russian speakers' views on domestic and geopolitical issues has been a problem throughout recent decades. Tabuns (2006: 32) noted that Latvia's Russian speakers who identify with Russia and the divergent geopolitical attitudes curtail successful political integration. These perceptions are rooted in different historical memories, spilling over into the perceptions of current events and manifesting during days of celebrations, where the Russian speakers mostly espouse different affinities from the rest (Baltic Institute of Social Sciences, 2015: 49; Ločmele et al, 2011).…”