Chinese migrant workers’ exploitation

Chinese migrant workers’ exploitation

A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation draws on the real life experiences of 32 Chinese migrant workers in the UK, mostly working in Chinese catering and hospitality businesses. Many of these workers enter the UK irregularly or by claiming asylum, and end up being trapped in exploitation where they work extremely long hours in poor conditions for salaries well below the minimum wage. “I can't do other types of work [here], only the cooking work because I don’t know English and I don’t have the legal status. (Man, 45, eight years in UK)”  In considering the complex relationships between migration, work and family, the JRF’s report recognises factors of vulnerability of Chinese migrant workers such as debt bondage and lack of legal information, and reveals the exploitative working conditions they are in. It also recommends effective actions could be taken by government, civil society, trade unions and employers.   The full report and summary by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation are available at http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/chinese-experiences-forced-labour