‘They think you belong to them’: migrant workers’ perspectives on labour exploitation in Spain

Figures & data

Table 1. Profiles of participants in the fieldwork.

Interviews
Labour sector	Legal Status	Nationalities	Male	Female
Seasonal Agriculture	Legal residents	Romania (2) Morocco (2)	4	0
Domestic (8), Construction (2) and Services (1)	Irregular	Venezuela (3) Iran (1) Mali (1) Ecuador (1) Colombia (2) Chile (1) Bolivia (2)	3	8
Construction (1) Hospitality (1) and Call Center (1)	Applicants for international protection	Venezuela (1) Ukraine (1) Colombia (1)	1	2
Construction (1) and Services (1)	Permanent Residents	Guinea Bissau (1) Philippines (1)	2	0
Focus Groups
Domestic	Irregular (1) Ex-irregular (1) Legal Resident (3)	Peru (2) Paraguay (2) Colombia (1)	0	5
Construction, Agriculture and Services	Applicant for international protection (1) Legal Resident (1) Irregular (2)	Cameroon (1) Senegal (1) Burundi (1) Guinea Conakry (1)	2	2

Table 2. Types of risk factors connected with labour exploitation.

Type of problem	Number of interviewees who experienced it	Number of focus group participants who experienced it
Physical integrity; danger of death	5/20	1/9
Poverty: precarious economic situation	17/20	8/9
Lack of knowledge about language	7/20	4/9
Economic sector (agriculture, construction, domestic work, Hospitality)	20/20	9/9
Irregular administrative situation	11/20	8/9
Being foreign/migrant	15/20	9/9
Low education level	17/20	9/9
Being older than 50	10/20	2/9
Being a woman (especially if employed in the domestic service)	10/20	7/9

Table 3. Typology of problems of severe labour exploitation experienced by the participants.

Type of problem	Number of interviewees who experienced it	Number of focus group participants who experienced it
Problems with pay	18/20	8/9
Problems with conditions at work	20/20	8/9
Problems with work contract	16/20	8/9
Problems with housing/accommodation	11/20	5/9
Problems with documents	11/20	8/9
Problems with work tasks	5/20	3/9
Experienced (personally) threats or violence	1/20	1/9

Table 4. Victims’ situation: expectations, knowledge and actions taken.

Victim's situation: victim support and access to justice	Number of interviewees	Number of focus group participants
Still in the situation of exploitation	12/20	7/9
Satisfied with situation now	5/20	2/9
Victims’ previous expectations: more employment rights and protection	10/20	6/9
Told about workers’ rights at any stage	12/20	8/9
Contact anyone for help (other than police)	10/20	7/9

Table 5. Victims’ situation: ways forward and prevention.

Ways forward and prevention	Number of interviewees	Number of focus group participants
Know their rights and the rights of employers from the outset	12/20	8/9
Search for legal advice from the outset	7/20	7/9
Increase formal inspections of the workplace	8/20	6/9