Migrant labour in the agri-food system in Europe : unpacking the social and legal factors of exploitation

Abstract

The aim of this Special Issue is to critically explore the complex links between labour migration and the agri-food sector in Europe, drawing attention to the variety of legal and social vectors and issues at stake in the contemporary forms of exploitation underpinning the agri-food system. Our intention is to contribute to scholarly discussion on the protection of the rights of migrant workers in the agri-food system by providing an in-depth analysis of the interplay of legal, social, economic and cultural factors that foster the recourse to a low-wage and exploitable labour force in the agri-food sector, and that produce the conditions of vulnerability experienced by migrant workers in Europe. We therefore seek to provide a critical overview of the diverse drivers and processes contributing to a system that fosters workers’ dependency on employers, confines a migrant labour force to specific sectors, and, simultaneously, facilitates their continuous replacement, profiting from specific situations of social, legal and economic vulnerability.