Gaceta Sanitaria
Volume 23, Issue SUPPL. 1, 2009, Pages 107-114

Precarious employment in undocumented immigrants in Spain and its relationship with health [La precariedad laboral en inmigrantes en situación irregular en España y su relación con la salud] (Article) (Open Access)

Porthé V.* , Benavides F.G. , Vázquez M.L. , Ruiz-Frutos C. , García A.M. , Ahonen E. , Agudelo-Suárez A.A. , Benach J.
  • a Centro de Investigación en Salud Laboral, Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
  • b Centro de Investigación en Salud Laboral, Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
  • c Servicio de Estudios y Prospectivas en Políticas de Salud, Consorcio Hospitalario de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
  • d Departamento de Biología Ambiental y Salud Pública, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, Spain
  • e CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, Instituto Sindical de Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud, Madrid, Spain
  • f Centro de Investigación en Salud Laboral, Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States
  • g Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia, Área de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain, Fundación Carolina, Madrid, Spain
  • h Centro de Investigación en Salud Laboral, Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain, CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain

Abstract

Objective: To describe the characteristics of precarious employment in undocumented immigrants in Spain and its relationship with health. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using analytic induction. Criterion sampling, based on the Immigration, Work and Health project (Inmigración, Trabajo y Salud [ITSAL]) criterion (current definitions of 'legal immigrant' in Spain and in the literature) was used to recruit 44 undocumented immigrant workers from four different countries, living in four Spanish cities. Results: The characteristics of precariousness perceived by undocumented immigrants included high job instability; disempowerment due to lack of legal protection; high vulnerability exacerbated by their legal and immigrant status; perceived insufficient wages and lower wages than coworkers; limited social benefits and difficulty in exercising their rights; and finally, long hours and fast-paced work. Our informants reported they had no serious health problems but did describe physical and mental problems associated with their employment conditions and legal situation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that undocumented immigrants' situation may not fit the model of precarious employment exactly. However, the model's dimensions can be expanded to better represent undocumented immigrants' situation, thus strengthening the general model. Precarious employment in this group can be defined as «extreme», as it affects their working and social lives. If these workers continue to be exposed to such precarious conditions, the impact on their health may increase. © 2009 SESPAS.

Author Keywords

Migration Social protection Health Employment conditions Legal status

Index Keywords

information processing urban population Romania unemployment Ecuador psychological aspect human middle aged statistics Cohort Studies Stress, Psychological mental stress health status Colombia Salaries and Fringe Benefits ethnology salary and fringe benefit Young Adult Humans Occupations Adolescent male occupation Spain female Article adult migration cohort analysis Transients and Migrants employment Focus Groups Morocco
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-72149103273&doi=10.1016%2fj.gaceta.2009.09.004&partnerID=40&md5=bf73d728e6b517898c89d86a80e72516
DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2009.09.004
ISSN: 02139111
Cited by: 25
Original Language: Spanish