Exploited: Migrant Labour in the New Global Economy

by Toby Shelley

From cleaning to construction, from agriculture to domestic work, every day migrant labourers are exploited and enslaved. Extra hours are squeezed out of Polish food packers, and trafficked African children are used for forced labour. Low wages are used to drive down prices from the oil industry to airport services.

In this book, Toby Shelley shows that current unprecedented flows of migrant workers are a direct result of economic liberalization. The appalling conditions and legal abuses which confront these workers are not a premodern aberration, but an integral part of the global economy. Shelley argues that even governments, keen to protect big business, are complicit in this exploitation; their 'law and order' approach on immigration being part of this complicity.

Based on interviews and investigations with workers, unionists and activists, Exploited is a powerful and shocking read.

Genres: Labor

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2007

Reviews

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read showing that migrant labour in the global North can be heavily exploitative to the point of being a new form of slavery in some cases.

The style was a little too dry, relying heavily on statistics that are probably now outdated. The book was at its best when it was using stories from migrants about their experiences to illustrate the facts and statistics - unfortunately there weren't very many of these stories.

[Aizhamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely interesting book that shows systematic practices of of exploitation of migrant labourers by industries (cleaning, food, agriculture, construction etc.) in the UK (developed Global North).
It is a useful read for those who are interested in labour migration and migrants' rights.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting close look at the exploitation of labor in the UK. Somebody needs to write a similar book about the U.S.