Exploited

Migrant labour in the new global economy

Toby Shelley, Zed Books, 183 pages, paperback, £14.99

This fascinating and thought-provoking book sets out how migrant labour is used and abused by employers around the world.

Drawing on the experience of union organisers seeking to fight this exploitation, Shelley looks at the background to the worldwide movement of labour and reveals it to be an essential ingredient of modern capitalism and globalisation. While some of the worst examples of abuse have been exposed elsewhere, the book’s strength lies in showing how it is intrinsic to the way that the developed world now operates.

The role played by governments in promoting the exploitation of vulnerable workers is exposed in all its shameful detail. And the book also provides valuable examples of how unions are organising in an effort to combat the problem.