Migrant workers in manufacturing

This chapter firstly investigates the changing importance of manufacturing in different nations, and in particular across the top five manufacturing nations of China, the US, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. These trends are considered in the context of classic literature related to migration, particularly the work of Castles and Piore. There then follows a case study of the food manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom, which allows for investigation of the impacts of restriction of freedom of movement, together with examination of the perceived ‘migrant work ethic’. Finally, conclusions and implications are drawn, and areas of future research identified.