Migrant worker strategies in access to health: recognizing agency in a context of constraints

Abstract

As the global movement of people reaches unprecedented levels, Western governments are increasingly obsessed with border enforcement and migration management. This has resulted in the creation of complex and ever-changing immigration systems, contributing to the proliferation of new and complicated categories of migration status. Increasing numbers of migrants are finding themselves with precarious forms of immigration status and/or no status at all.

COVID-19 among migrant farmworkers in Canada

“…Under the SAWP contract, employers are responsible for "transportation to and from a hospital or clinic whenever the worker needs medical attention" (see for e.g., ESDC 2021b, VIII.6). However, minor injuries and ailments are often ignored or not reported by the workers for fear of reprisals or repatriations(Hennebry, McLaughlin & Preibisch 2016;McLaughlin, Tew & Huesca 2018;Hanley et al 2014;Hanley et al 2020;Gravel et al 2014). Furthermore, for the migrants recruited under the AS program (such as the majority of workers employed in Quebec), there are no bilateral contracts to specify the responsibilities of the employers.The narrative presented by Gisella, a Guatemalan woman employed in Quebec, exposes how some employers routinely ignore their workers' health needs:We used to lift 50 pounds; we would fill two boxes.…”