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POSTS BY Raluca Bejan
23 March 2022
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How Canada Capitalizes on Ukrainian Refugees

For those fleeing the war in Ukraine, Canada launched a new temporary residence pathway, the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program on March 17, 2022. Offered in conjunction with a special family reunification program, CUAET is open to an unlimited number of Ukrainians regardless of their existing ties to Canada. While seemingly an open and benevolent gesture, Ukrainians are welcomed inside the Canadian nation not as humanitarian subjects but primarily as workers to potentially contribute to the Canadian economy. Continue reading >>
28 April 2021
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Migrant Workers’ Safety Concerns Should be a Pandemic Priority

In the second year of the pandemic, migrant workers continue to work under precarious conditions, exacerbated by the additional risks associated with Covid-19. Social security assistance in Germany, including health care provisions, requires a minimum of 70 working days before employers are required to contribute. During last year’s agricultural season, the German government raised this minimum to 115 days. This made healthcare the responsibility of one’s country of citizenship, not of one’s employer. This year, in April 2021, the German farming industry has successfully pressured the government to re-extend this provision to 102 days.  Continue reading >>
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16 April 2020

COVID-19 and Disposable Migrant Workers

Picture this: The world is battling a pandemic, with many countries in lockdown and borders closed. You arrive at a regional airport in northern Romania and wait for hours in the parking lot to board a charter flight. You might end up in Baden-Baden, Berlin or Düsseldorf—it’s hard to know, since no one is telling you what the final destination is. Physical distancing seems not to apply. You are jammed together with 2000 other people waiting to be placed as seasonal workers in the fields of Germany. Asparagus needs to be picked and the new crop need to be planted so the Germans can enjoy uninterrupted production of the spring vegetable through 2020 and 2021. Continue reading >>
03 November 2019

Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Fails Romanian and Bulgarian Migrant Workers

Romanian and Bulgarian nationals might not be British workers, but they are nevertheless workers. And both the EU and the UK have an ethical responsibility to outline provisions so that Brexit does not further marginalize the very same group of workers who already face discrimination in the British labour market. Continue reading >>
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31 July 2017

A 50/50 Ball: The East versus the EU in the Refugee Relocation Game

Last week, Advocate General Yves Bot dismissed the claims of Hungary and Slovakia against the EU refugee relocation scheme. The Commission has launched an infringement procedure against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for not fulfilling their quota. The East/West divide in the matter of refugee relocation could be seen as evidence that the former communist countries are culturally backwards, liberally underdeveloped, and have low tolerance levels in regards to cultural and religious diversity. Yet there is no empirical research that shows that the East is more racist and xenophobic than the West. What else could explain this dangerous phenomenon? Continue reading >>