Equal rights for all workers: Irish trade unions and the challenge of labour migration - Article Example

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According to Krings (2007), while immigrants from Western nations, such as the United States and European nations, are seen to be more prominent in higher-skilled careers, the repeal is true for individuals in other parts of the world, who seem to be inappropriately represented in less-skilled careers. Krings (2007), therefore, finds that 'immigrants in low-skilled careers' do not essentially mean 'less-skilled immigrants' as roughly 90% of immigrants in Ireland have a third level or upper-secondary education. However, as many work in occupations that do not reflect their educational levels, what is, in reality, happening is less of a 'brain drain' compared to more of a 'brain waste' as Munck (2010) from Poland lately remarked.
In Ireland, as well as in the United Kingdom, significant migration from the fresh member states has led to a considerable growth in both wages and employment. Whereas immigrants make up a majority of the contemporary occupations, the employment rate of the local citizens has gone up, as well. Employment of Irish people has only dropped in the hospitality and manufacturing field (Krings, 2007). The key question is whether Irish workers formerly employed in these industries have shifted to well paying jobs or have been displaced by the increasing number of immigrants. It is impossible to deduce this from the current data. Nevertheless, whereas it is fairly likely that a number of incidents of displacement have taken place, overall joblessness has not gone up since EU growth (Krings, 2007). Therefore, it is harmless to argue that inward migration has been harmonising instead of substitutional to the Irish workforce. Krings (2007) suggests that a raise in the supply of labour can lead to a drop of wages. In essence, wages, in a majority of sectors of Ireland, did not swell as much after the EU enlargement as they did before May 2004. Nevertheless, this drop in wage growth can be well in 'historical experience' and might be because of other aspect except immigration. Even though, wage growth may have been restrained in a number of sectors, Krings (2007) proposes that the adverse effects of immigration on employment opportunities and wages for local workers have not been important. However, low-skilled employees particularly might experience competition from immigrants in the near future. Methodology This paper is rooted in a qualitative study conducted from February to July 2006. To study trade union reactions to migrant labour, Krings (2007) carried out 22 semi-structured interviews with officials of trade union, which were all recorded, transcribed and then examined. Interviewees were selected through ...Download file to see next pagesRead More