Layers of Vulnerability among Internally and Internationally Mobile Workers in the Context of Southern Africa
Webinar Presentation by Denboy Kudejira

What forms of deprivations and experiences are associated with contemporary forms of transnational labour migration? What are the implications of being a ‘foreigner and undocumented’ within a precarious labour market? These questions will be explored through a discussion of the layers of vulnerabilities among undocumented Zimbabweans who seek waged agricultural work in northern South Africa (Limpopo province). While transnational mobility for work is not new to southern Africa, the structure and magnitude of the phenomenon have changed over the past few decades following colonial independence and the concomitant embracing of the global neoliberal agenda by states in the region. Besides capturing the lived experiences of the migrants, Kudejira will discuss policy interventions that had been put in place to try to regulate transnational mobility and why these have failed to curb the influx of undocumented Zimbabwean migrants. In the process, Kudejira will make a case for the need to have a clearly defined agricultural workers recruitment arrangement between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Check out the presentation here.

For more information, check out Denboy’s recent publication:

Kudejira, D. 2019. Breaking Down the Binary: Layers of Vulnerability Among Internally and Internationally Mobile Workers in the Context of Southern Africa. Special issue on Temporary Foreign Workers, (Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau and Adam Perry Eds.). International Migration. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12678