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Migrant Workers’s Employment and Their Working Conditions in the Post-disaster Recovery Period: Case Study of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories

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Title Migrant Workers’s Employment and Their Working Conditions in the Post-disaster Recovery Period: Case Study of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake
 
Creator Bhula-or, Ruttiya
Ikemoto, Yukio
 
Subject Labor and Demographic Economics; gricultural and Natural Resource Economics • Environmental and Ecological Economics
Employment policies, Migrant workers, Natural disasters
J15, J69, Q54
 
Description Abstract. The 2011 great east Japan earthquake in Tohoku area caused more than 15,883 deaths. It widely affected on a number of groups including migrants. This study aims to investigate the impact of natural disasters on migrant workers who are vulnerable to such situations, and their working conditions based on primary data and in-depth analysis. The study also employed a developed analytical framework using a difference-in-differences analysis to probe in a qualitative approach.  The study suggested that the lack of preparedness for natural disasters, limited accessibilities to up-to-date information in their languages as well as uncertainties to forecast their future employment status were crucial to their work and future expectation in the post-disaster recovery period. Though a number of organizations provided multi-language media, including radio and internet-based information, apparently the accessible rate to migrants was limited. From this study, all respondents confirmed that the impact on their work and employment cannot be measured by the employment rate alone. The deepening impact had grown its roots to low-income migrants, which did not reflect by statistics. Their wages and overtime hours were reduced resulting in a decrease in their total income until these days. In addition, the majority of people interviewed were covered by social insurance, but they were reluctant to pursue claims because of the absence of knowledge of social insurance, as well as complicated paper work. The government project for victims’ employment and livelihood benefited only some migrants indirectly, through financial support of small and medium businesses due to limited inaccessibility to the assistances. Therefore, migrant workers should be one of target groups for labour-related policies at the country of destination. Government policies and measurements may provide alternative assistance schemes which are harmonized to the migrants’ working characteristics and working status in particular, through existing informal channels in order to ensure sustainable recovery and better reintegration constructed on human rights’ principles.
 
Publisher International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories
 
Contributor This study is developed under a partial funding of the ILO project, namely The Japan Earthquake Project: Disseminating Lessons from Employment and Labour Measures for the Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake from 1 August 2012 to 31 March 2014.
 
Date 2014-12-01
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Peer-reviewed Article
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://www.ijept.org/index.php/ijept%20/article/view/Migrant_Workers_Employment_and_Their_Working_Conditions_in_the_Post-disaster_Recovery_Period
 
Source International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories; Vol 4, No 6 (2014); 995-1006
2247 – 7225
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://www.ijept.org/index.php/ijept%20/article/view/Migrant_Workers_Employment_and_Their_Working_Conditions_in_the_Post-disaster_Recovery_Period/pdf_75