COVID-19 and the precarious low-skilled workforce in the European Union: Time to call the shots?

Abstract

This commentary highlights the critical role of low-skilled workers who are often considered unwanted populations within the European Union (EU) migration system that privileges high-skilled migrants, while neglecting the existence of low-skilled migrants, creating unfavorable job conditions for low-skilled migrants despite their considerable contributions to EU economies. Unfortunately, this wrenching problem became evident during the pandemic. While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all segments of the population to varying degrees in the EU, the migrant populations were adversely affected in many aspects. Specifically, low-skilled migrants are the most vulnerable to the pandemic’s secondary effects, due to multiple forms of vulnerability, risk, exploitation, and precarity shaped by their intersectional identities and membership in other marginalized groups. It has been argued that the roles of low-skilled migrants should be considered when appraising their impact and developing labor migration policies. This commentary concludes by proffering some recommendations for the EU governing entities in formulating schemes to ensure the inclusion of low-skilled migrant workforce into the public policy and labor migration system.