Fabio Perocco

Religious belonging and new ways of being “Italian” in the self-perception of second-generation immigrants in Italy

Moving beyond the current media verves, this book debates, from a critical perspective, case studies on the sites and politics of religious diversity in Southern Europe.

Immigrant women workers in the underground economy between old and new inequities

The participation in a research study of the 6th Framework Programme, titled ‘Undocumented Workers Transitions’, brought to light a number of elements regarding immigrant women workers that are worthy of note. These elements concern the development of the underground economy and its symbiotic relationship with the formal economy; the expansion of undocumented migrations, which are the life-blood of the European economy; the living and working conditions of immigrant women; and public policies.

Anti-migrant Islamophobia in Europe. Social roots, mechanisms and actors

During the last two decades of rising anti-migrant racism in Europe, Islamophobia has proven to be the highest, most acute, and widely spread form of racism. The article shows how anti-migrant Islamophobia is a structural phenomenon in European societies and how its internal structure has specific social roots and mechanisms of functioning. Such an articulate and interdependent set of key themes, policies, practices, discourses, and social actors it is intended to inferiorise and marginalise Muslim immigrants while legitimising and reproducing social inequalities affecting the majority of them. The article examines the social origins of anti-migrant Islamophobia and the modes and mechanisms through which it naturalises inequalities; it focuses on the main social actors involved in its production, specifically on the role of some collective subjects as anti-Muslim organizations and movements, far-right parties, best-selling authors, and the mass-media.

Precarización del trabajo y nuevas desigualdades: el papel de la inmigración.

The article focuses on the “double role” immigration may have in the process of casualization of work: on one hand such process firstly and markedly involves migrant workers, on the other hand immigration often provides a vector of spreading and increase of precarity. The article deals with the impact of precarity on migrant workers within the European context, and the global importance of migration policies in anticipating a larger expansion of precarity; then, it focuses on the Italian context as a symbol for both the precarization of migrant labour and the experimentation in the migration sector of new forms of precariousness.Este articulo se centra en el “doble papel” que puede tener la inmigracion en el proceso de precarizacion del trabajo: por un lado interesa sobretodo y de manera considerable los trabajadores inmigrantes, por el otro, la inmigracion es a menudo un vector de difusion y ampliacion de precariedad. Examina el impacto de la precariedad sobre los trabajadores inmigrantes en el contexto europeo y la importancia general de las politicas migratorias en adelantar una mayor ampliacion de la precariedad; despues toma en consideracion el contexto italiano como simbolo de la precarizacion del trabajo inmigrante y de la experimentacion en el sector de la inmigracion de nuevas formas de precariedad.

Vulnerable Workers in Times of Social Trasformations. Discrimination and Participation of Young and Older Workers, and Social Dialogue Stances

The current social and economic developments in Europe provide us with much of the rationale to understand how our contemporary society has reached the current situation of highly polarised social and labour inequalities. In this context, debates on the current labour market are centred on the worldwide economic crisis and emerging inequalities, exploring the underlying causes that stem from labour market transformations, which for decades have weakened the situation of workers in positions of high risk. Emphasis is placed on labour precariat – where both unemployment and employment interact to define vulnerability, particularly of those not fitting within the expected ideal-type worker, in Europe, such as the workers at either end of the labour age spectrum, the older and the younger workers. This volume, adopts a dual lens that incorporates the diversity of social dialogue outlooks, to critically expose the situation of these two vulnerable groups; the younger and the older workers. A context in which trade unions’ representation of such workers’ interests and rights is fundamental in ensuring opportunities for workers of all ages throughout the lifecycle. Through an analysis grounded on an innovative empirical study conducted across Europe, the volume exposes how beyond these two age groups workers, vulnerability of non-ideal type workers – including migrant workers, women workers and the intersectional range of social constructions that place workers in these high social risk situations, is the core for their enduring vulnerability, particularly in times of crisis in Europe. Moreover, the several contributions included expose how the condition of these non ideal-type workers not only places them in a constantly precarious labour situation, but also renders them invisible to those mechanisms of support, protection and prevention of their working rights and opportunities. Summary