CAN ‘BRAND STANDING’ TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF MIGRANT WORKERS?
How many times have we gone to a popular supermarket chain and wondered why the staff isn’t flashing big red smiles as they do in the television advertisement?
Or why the bank’s customer service is not as helpful and cheerful as they promise it would be? Or why 8 out of 10 times when we open the door to take our ordered food from the delivery guy, he’s a poor migrant and not the funky university student the TV ad showed bringing colour and happiness to our home?
Sometimes, we are unable to see the obvious very clearly. Customers who consume responsibly, notice. And if you represent a certain minority group, you are more likely to notice exclusion. For instance, a woman is more likely to notice the lack of one in a board room, or call out a ‘manel’ (a panel of speakers with only men) at a conference. Similarly, as migrants to another country, we are more likely to notice them absent from due representation.
In a 2021 report, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) pointed out that migrants earn 13% less than natives in most high income countries. In some cases, this gap widens to over 40%. Oftentimes, it is also thought that immigration increases income inequality in countries.
According to Italian statistics of the same year, this pay gap stood around 30%. Several factors have led to this number and they include a variety of barriers to entry into the job market. There is often a mismatch of skills and knowledge between employers and employees. Migrants who are new to the labour market are unsure of schemes, markets, and face constraints in getting their educational certifications verified. All of this is compounded by heavy bureaucracy and language difficulties. These are all the obvious challenges. But something more curious is also going on, on the sidelines.
Experts claim that regardless of the expected difficulties of entering a new market, 75% of this gap remains “unexplained”. It is indeed a strange idea to use this vague word in academic studies but interestingly, it speaks volumes about the kind of labour market we operate in. The ILO report says that the unexplained part of the pay gap points to a “discrimination against migrant workers with respect to pay” that exists over and beyond variables such as education, experience, age, location etc. The report goes on to state that “if the unexplained part of the migrant pay is eliminated, the migrant pay gap would nearly disappear in many countries and reverse in others.”
What is the state of work of migrants in Italy and what does it say about their rights?
This is a layered question and can be best understood by expanding upon two topics that have recently been under discussion in academic and human rights circles. One, is the increase in accidents at work that cause injuries and death. Second, the issue of “caporalato” that leads to labour exploitation especially in the agricultural sector.
According to the latest Inail data (National Institute of Insurance Against Accidents at Work), workplace accidents and occupational disease rates have increased in the first five months of 2024 and are well beyond the figures around the same time last year. With varying degrees across different regions of Italy, the increase in fatal accidents was seen with both male and female workers. However, the number of workplace death fell for Italian workers, while increasing sharply for non-EU and EU citizens from outside Italy.
It is in a similar light that we can recall the tragic death of Satnam Singh in a Roman hospital on June 19th. Singh was the victim of a larger racket of slave labour and exploitation of migrants on the agricultural lands of Italy. The description of how inhumanely Singh and his family were treated after his injury at work make for an evil plot in a gangster movie. But Singh was not alone in suffering long underpaid hours of work (4 Euros for a 12 hour shift). He was trapped in a broader network of traffickers and land owners who take heavy loans to secure contracts that allow them to stay in the country and then spend weeks and months, working to pay back that amount through their labour.
After Satnam Singh was left to die of his injury and not taken to the hospital in time, the Italian media helped to make much needed noise about this horrific crime. Like it did about sexual harassment at work, ethnic or gender discrimination. Over time, consumers demanded better values from their chosen brands. They learned to relate ideas and values with brands and companies and be able to tell which side they would fall on regarding international and national social and political issues.
Brands are becoming increasingly socially responsible - not only for image building but also as a part of a robust marketing strategy. In this environment where climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, non discrimination, diversity and inclusion are much talked about and practised, it is time for our brands to openly propagate and practise defending the rights and safety of migrant workers as part of their brand identity.