Reducing the risks of exploitation for Romanian seasonal labour migrants after COVID-19

为控制新冠肺炎疫情而实施的措施严重影响了英国农业部门，该部门每年依赖9万名季节性工人，其中很大一部分是罗马尼亚人，包括罗姆人。罗马尼亚国民也一直是国家转介机制接受的潜在剥削受害者中最多的10个国籍和最大的欧洲联盟公民群体。根据国家转介机制的数据，对罗马尼亚人的劳动剥削在很大程度上是这一群体中最常见的现代奴役类型，其次是性剥削和犯罪剥削。2019年，仅英国警方就提交了222起对罗马尼亚国民的劳动剥削案件。外国雇员和季节性雇员不愿或不能报告本已易受剥削的行业的剥削行为，令该行业感到担忧，该行业也受到2019冠状病毒病大流行的严重影响。因此，该项目提议首次对新型冠状病毒对罗马尼亚季节性工人在英国的剥削风险的影响进行定量评估。我们将采用基于调查的方法，同时进行政策审查，并与执法部门、企业和招聘机构进行关键线人访谈，以快速了解疫情如何影响罗马尼亚工人的脆弱性。我们还将提出缓解风险增加的潜在选择。通过与多个利益相关者的接触，我们旨在确定从这场大流行中吸取的教训，并提出可能有助于缓解当前挑战和未来危机的政策和实践变化。我们的研究将探讨以下问题：1）COVID-19给雇主、招聘人员和工人带来了哪些风险和挑战？2)疫情如何影响工人移民英国的决定？3)工人对联合王国法律规定的劳动权利有何理解？4)工人是否有意识地期望和接受恶劣或剥削性的条件？大流行对这一期望产生了什么影响？5)在应对危机和应对劳动力需求方面，行业内发生了哪些学习？6)其他北方欧洲经济体采用了哪些政策解决方案来缓解新出现的脆弱性？

The measures imposed to control the Covid-19 pandemic significantly affected the British agricultural sector which relies on 90,000 seasonal workers annually, a large proportion of whom are Romanian, including ethnic Roma. Romanian nationals are also consistently among the top 10 nationalities and the largest group of European Union citizens accepted as potential victims of exploitation within the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Based on the NRM data, labour exploitation of Romanians is by a large margin the most commonly-observed type of modern slavery within this group, followed by sexual and criminal exploitation. In 2019, 222 cases of labour exploitation of Romanian nationals were referred by Police forces in England alone. Foreign and seasonal employees unwillingness or inability to report exploitative practices in a sector which is already susceptible to exploitation is concerning within this sector, which has also been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The project therefore proposes to provide the first quantitative assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on the exploitation risk for Romanian seasonal workers in the UK. We will use a survey-based approach, alongside a policy review and key informant interviews with enforcement leads, businesses and recruitment agencies, to gain a rapid overview of how the pandemic is affecting the vulnerability of Romanian workers. We will also suggest potential options for mitigation of increased risks. By engaging with multiple stakeholders we aim to identify lessons that have been drawn from this pandemic and suggest policy and practice changes that may assist with mitigating current challenges and future crises.Our research will explore the following questions:1) What risks and challenges did COVID-19 bring for employers, recruiters and workers?2) How has the pandemic affected worker decisions about migration to the UK?3) What understanding do workers have of their labour rights under UK law?4) Do workers consciously expect and accept poor or exploitative conditions? What impact has the pandemic had on this expectation?5) What learning has occurred within industry in response to managing the crisis and responding to workforce needs?6) What policy solutions have other northern European economies used to mitigate emerging vulnerabilities?