Eight ‘Flexibility’, xenophobia and exploitation: modern slavery in the UK
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Gary Craig
Abstract
This chapter provides a comprehensive review of modern slavery in the UK, in the process dispelling the belief that such forms of extreme exploitation no longer exist in the country. It focuses on the two most common forms of modern slavery in the UK: forced labour and human trafficking for sexual purposes. It argues that the biggest driver of forced labour has been increasing deregulation of the labour market, with the UK the second least-protected developed country after the US and with large proportions of agency workers. It provides an important illustration of the transnational nature of many contemporary social problems, and demonstrates that effective responses require international coordination as well as coherence between domestic agencies.
Abstract
This chapter provides a comprehensive review of modern slavery in the UK, in the process dispelling the belief that such forms of extreme exploitation no longer exist in the country. It focuses on the two most common forms of modern slavery in the UK: forced labour and human trafficking for sexual purposes. It argues that the biggest driver of forced labour has been increasing deregulation of the labour market, with the UK the second least-protected developed country after the US and with large proportions of agency workers. It provides an important illustration of the transnational nature of many contemporary social problems, and demonstrates that effective responses require international coordination as well as coherence between domestic agencies.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List on contributors vii
- Introduction 1
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Current developments
- Education policy and policy making, 1997–2009 13
- Children’s social care under New Labour 31
- Health policy under New Labour: not what it seems? 51
- Towards a social democratic pension system? Assessing the significance of the 2007 and 2008 Pensions Acts1 71
- Minimum income standards and household budgets 97
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Current issues and debates
- Re-connecting with ‘what unemployment means’: employability, the experience of unemployment and priorities for policy in an era of crisis 121
- Facing the ‘dark side’ of deregulation? The politics of two-tier labour markets in Germany and Japan after the global financial crisis 149
- ‘Flexibility’, xenophobia and exploitation: modern slavery in the UK 173
- Mi Familia Progresa: change and continuity in Guatemala’s social policy 199
-
Service user involvement
- Service users and social policy: developing different discussions, challenging dominant discourses 227
- Participation and social justice 253
- Involving disabled children and young people in research and consultations: issues, challenges and opportunities 275
- Responding to unhappy childhoods in the UK: enhancing young people’s ‘well-being’ through participatory action research 291
- Service users as peer research interviewers: why bother? 317
- Index 337
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List on contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- Education policy and policy making, 1997–2009 13
- Children’s social care under New Labour 31
- Health policy under New Labour: not what it seems? 51
- Towards a social democratic pension system? Assessing the significance of the 2007 and 2008 Pensions Acts1 71
- Minimum income standards and household budgets 97
-
Current issues and debates
- Re-connecting with ‘what unemployment means’: employability, the experience of unemployment and priorities for policy in an era of crisis 121
- Facing the ‘dark side’ of deregulation? The politics of two-tier labour markets in Germany and Japan after the global financial crisis 149
- ‘Flexibility’, xenophobia and exploitation: modern slavery in the UK 173
- Mi Familia Progresa: change and continuity in Guatemala’s social policy 199
-
Service user involvement
- Service users and social policy: developing different discussions, challenging dominant discourses 227
- Participation and social justice 253
- Involving disabled children and young people in research and consultations: issues, challenges and opportunities 275
- Responding to unhappy childhoods in the UK: enhancing young people’s ‘well-being’ through participatory action research 291
- Service users as peer research interviewers: why bother? 317
- Index 337
