40 Migrant labour exploitation and health: how can research foster protection of migrant workers?

Abstract WKS 28: Migrant labour exploitation and health: How can research foster protection of migrant workers?, B203 (FCSH), September 5, 2025, 09:00 - 10:00 Objective The health impact of work conditions on low-wage migrant workers—the world’s largest migrant group—remains under-researched. Lower-wage jobs often involve extensive hours, physically demanding tasks and exploitative employment terms, resulting in poor mental and physical health. Migrant workers experience high rates of labour exploitation, workplace morbidity and mortality, and increasing health inequalities, which are set to increase amidst impending social, technological, economic, environmental, and political transitions. Yet, migrant workers are frequently overlooked in global health measurements and national surveillance systems, and are neglected in health system interventions. Workshop Plan This workshop aims to contribute to greater visibility of – and ultimately action on – migrant labour exploitation in research and policy. We will map current challenges and shortcomings in generating evidence on the links between migration, work/employment, and health with speakers; and with audience participation will explore ways to improve research and interventions to address migrant workers’ health, identify further relevant questions and elaborate steps towards better research and greater protections for mobile worker populations. Speakers Prof Cathy Zimmerman: How can we measure labour exploitation and develop interventions to protect migrant workers’ health? Insights from intervention-focused research on cattle ranching in Brazil and child domestic work in Liberia and Nigeria. Karen Lau: Labour exploitation as a social determinant of health: who are the migrants most at risk of deaths and injuries. Rosita Chai-Yin Lin: Understanding and responding to the health of migrant workers and their transnational families in the Asia-Pacific Region. Chair: Prof Sally Hargreaves; Prof Marie Norredam Main Messages