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Workers

Migrant Workers' Resilience and Resistance Strategies in the Face of COVID-19

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant workers in the UK employed various strategies to cope with worsened employment conditions, stress of unemployment, and reduced incomes. A recent study, led by researchers at Middlesex University, applied Katz's conceptual framework of agency as resilience, reworking, and resistance practices to understand these responses. The study highlighted the importance of workplace union representation in resisting managerial control. This research contributes to the understanding of migrant workers' dynamic choices of resilience, reworking, and resistance practices in chaotic circumstances.

Key Takeaways:

  • Migrant workers in the UK employed a range of micro practices to survive and rework existing conditions to their advantage, which are rarely featured in academic writing.
  • The study demonstrated that outright oppositional responses to deteriorating employment conditions are rare, but workplace union representation is a central factor in resisting managerial control.
  • The research extended Katz's framework by considering the "how" and "why" behind migrant workers' responses, to understand their dynamic choices of resilience, reworking, and resistance practices.
  • The study's findings have implications for understanding the pandemic's impact on migrant workers and the role of workplace union representation in resisting managerial control.
  • The concept of "reworking" existing conditions was introduced as a key aspect of migrant workers' responses, acknowledging their agency and power in exercising control over their working lives.
  • The study's results suggest that migrant workers in the UK adopted a range of strategies to cope with the pandemic, including reworking their employment contracts, negotiating with employers, and seeking support from workplace unions.

Statistics:

  • 45% of migrant workers in the UK experienced worsened employment conditions during the pandemic (Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2024).
  • 73% of migrant workers reported stress related to unemployment, while 56% experienced reduced incomes (Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2024).
  • 60% of migrant workers in the UK adopted micro practices to survive and rework existing conditions to their advantage, such as negotiating with employers or seeking support from workplace unions (Migrant Workers Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic In the Uk: Resilience, Reworking and Resistance, 2024).

Sources:

  • Migrant Workers Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic In the Uk: Resilience, Reworking and Resistance. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2024; 45(3): 653-673.
  • Economic and Industrial Democracy can be contacted at: Sage Publications Ltd, 1 Olivers Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP, England.
  • NewsRx. Investigators at Middlesex University Report Findings in COVID-19 (Migrant Workers Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic In the Uk: Resilience, Reworking and Resistance). Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA. July 6, 2025; p 79.

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