Addressing Migrant Worker Housing—From Structural Neglect to Strategic Policy Action

This Letter to the Editor responds to Samant et al.'s (2025) article on the neglected health and hygiene conditions in migrant worker housing across Europe. While endorsing the authors’ core argument, this letter expands the discussion by examining the persistent gap between housing policy and enforcement, the psychosocial dimensions of precarious accommodation , and the need for participatory research and global frameworks grounded in social justice. Precarious accommodation—defined here as unstable, unsafe, or insecure housing—and segregated accommodations, meaning employer-provided or location-based housing that isolates migrant workers from the broader community, are highlighted as chronic stressors. Drawing on comparative literature from Asia, North America, Australia, and Africa, the letter emphasizes the necessity of embedding housing into occupational health discourse and policy, with explicit links to occupational hygiene practices such as inspection protocols, sanitation standards, and cross-sector enforcement mechanisms. By connecting global lessons to European regulatory contexts, it calls for transforming temporary shelter into a right protected by labor systems.