Immobility of migrant workers
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As Sivanandan mentions, migrant labour was critical to Britain's post-war development. It follows a core migration theory stating that migrant labourers fill gaps in the labour market allowing for greater economic growth and development, specific to capitalist societies. . However, this theory asserts migrant labour solely as low-skilled labourers serving to take the jobs natives do not want. Essentially, it exploits immigrant vulnerability by employing migrant labourers but subjecting them to poor working conditions, harsh hours and low wages.
This labour system preserves a class hierarchy, making upward mobility extremely challenging for migrant labourers. In turn, it creates a greater divide between white British middle-class workers and migrant labourers which fuels the alienation of migrant labourers by systemically maintaining a social hierarchy that places white middle-class workers over migrant labourers, perpetuating racial and economic inequalities. It instilled stereotypes presenting migrants as only low-skilled labourers, preserving a sense of superiority by the white British middle-class.
Sivanadan mentions the 1958 riots several times in her paper, which highlights how systemic barriers impacted far beyond the immobility of labour. Also known as the Nottingham Riots, the 1958 race riots were a series of discriminatory acts directed at the influx of Caribbean migrant workers. Many landlords refused to rent to Caribbean families or largely overcharged them. The 1958 riots further present a paradox between the systemic need for migrant labourers, and how they were treated by natives who enjoyed the benefits of a growing economy.