Injustice and high-skilled “temporary” labour migration

Abstract

This paper aims to distinguish between the moral dilemmas posed by high- and low-skilled labour migration programs in receiving states. The first section describes the conditions that generate the demands for high- and low-skilled migrants and then observes that these distinctive demands appear to generate the distinctive conditions attached to each of these categories of programs. These conditions have led many to conclude that low-skilled, but not high-skilled, migrants appear vulnerable to abuse. However, the paper argues, the conditions that attach to high-skilled labour migration programs can also present moral dilemmas; we should not be too quick in dismissing the travails they face as temporary migrants. I argue that high-skilled migrants are subject these injustices, including discrimination, the failure to recognize foreign credentials, and therefore, unmet expectations. The paper concludes by suggesting that the generation of two tiers of temporary labour migration – which creates an inequality among categories of migrants – is itself an injustice.