ABSTRACT
Temporary migration schemes have become a valuable source of swift access to low- and high-skilled labour for many destination countries that compete for these labouring hands. Seasonal, semi-skilled, gig economy workers, and professionals enter countries through this pathway alongside international students and those on temporary protection and bridging visas. Over the last decade, the stock and flow of temporary migrants has increased into Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, and the UK, but the source countries have changed. For instance, the number of Mexican migrants entering the US as seasonal workers declined between 2010 and 2019, with Chinese and Indian migrants now forming a larger cohort of temporary entrants. While the face of temporary migration has changed, the questions around the migrants’ rights and the destination country’s responsibilities remain a point of concern. Gaps in the governance structures and processes leave temporary migrants vulnerable and subject to physical, emotional, and dignity injuries. With economies internationally increasingly relying on temporary migrants as a steady labour supply, these workers’ needs should be placed at the centre of our analysis, giving them voice and security that mirrors those of citizens. This chapter thus considers the notion of ‘labour citizenship’ as a pathway to rights-based governance for temporary migrants.
