Meardi et al.: Unions and Migrant Labour in Spain and the UK
Conclusion
New migrants’ situation of uncertainty is one of maximum risk and minimum ‘voice’. Our review of the construction sector in the flexible labour markets of Spain and the UK illustrates that the exacerbation of mobility and flexibility is realizing something feared by UK migration experts: the ‘risk that a constantly self-replacing stream of workers [from the new EU member states] could fall into the role of a semi-exploited (if often compliant) “underclass” , with limited prospects for social mobility and integration’ (Sumption and Somerville, 2010: 29).