Browsing by Author "Setrana, M."

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Brokerage in Migrant Domestic Work in Ghana: Complex Social Relations and Mixed Outcomes.
(Migrating out of Poverty Consortium, University of Sussex, Brighton, 2017) Awumbila, M.; Deshingkar, P.; Kandilige, L.; Teye, J. K.; Setrana, M.
Rural–urban migration from the poorer regions of Ghana to the south is an important part of the livelihood portfolio of poor families. In the urban areas of the south, domestic work – which is typically low-paid and insecure – is an important avenue of employment for women and girls from such backgrounds. Within this social space, recruitment brokers play a central role and are often portrayed in the migration literature as unscrupulous exploiters of domestic workers for their own profit and gain. Drawing on conceptualisations of migrant agency within the brokerage relationship, this paper challenges portrayals of brokerage purely as a ‘migration business’ and takes an approach that shows how migrants use brokers to further their own agendas. The paper employs in-depth interviews conducted in Accra in 2015 with female migrant domestic workers, employers, brokers, relevant government ministries and unionised labour units, to provide insights into the social relations that underpin the recruitment process in Ghana and how aspiring migrants and brokers build trust to lay the foundations for complex and risky journeys. They argue that, with an increase in labour migration, recruitment agencies and brokers have become important facilitators of migration. Brokers play a range of multiple and often contradictory roles in facilitating and mediating migration for domestic work. These roles, in some cases, could be said to be reinforcing patriarchal ideologies while, in other cases, brokers aid domestic workers to negotiate better terms and conditions of employment and to meet the latters’ aspirations. Thus brokers are an important part of migrants’ strategies to exercise agency in the context of highly unequal power relationships with the employer. These findings indicate the need for a more nuanced understanding of the mediating role of brokers and intermediaries as they traverse the multi-layered space in the recruitment process.
Choosing to Stay: Alternate Migration Decisions of Ghanaian Youth
(Cogitatio, 2021) Setrana, M.
This article focuses on nationals from Ghana who have lost interest in pursuing migration dreams to Europe and North America after failed attempts to migrate. Many less experienced youths who attempt to migrate to Europe and North America face challenges such as strict immigration laws, high cost of financing migration plans, or illegal recruiters. Some risk their lives through dangerous routes to achieve their migration goals. The negative consequences recorded are numerous, including death en route to Europe and North America. Using life stories, this article lets failed migrants recount the frustration, wasted resources and years spent to fulfil their migration dreams. It discusses individual factors such as experiences that affect the decision not to pursue migration dreams despite the culture of migration in their communities. The article concludes that strict immigration policies in Europe and North America have restricted international migration among less experienced and less skilled youth in Ghana, leading to personal decisions not to migrate but adjust to the conditions at home, and later describing their stay as a preferred decision
Effects of the Single Spine Salary Structure on Migration Intentions of Health Professionals in the Accra Metropolis
(University Of Ghana, 2015-07) Boadi, J. A.; Setrana, M.; University Of Ghana, College of Humanities, Centre for Migration Studies
Emigration of health professionals in Ghana has been a serious challenge to all successive governments and stakeholders in the health sector. In attempt to battle this emigration canker, governments have introduced policies and measures including the following; Additional Duty Hours Allowance (ADHA), Health Sector Salary Scheme (HSSS), Deprived Area Incentives as well as Vehicle Ownership Scheme. In the year 2010, the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) was introduced to cushion all public sector workers especially health professionals. However all these measures and policies appear not to solve the problem for which it was introduced. The aim of this study therefore is to examine how the introduction of the current wage dispensation (SSSS) is impacting on the migration intentions of health professionals in Accra metropolis. Data was gathered through the administration of 90 questionnaires, involving 74 nurses and 16 doctors and in-depthinterviews conducted with 4 nurses, 3 doctors and 3 hospital administrators. Analysis of the sex composition of the health professionals shows that a little over 74 % of the health professionals were females. The ages of the health professionals ranged from 28 years to 65 years. In respect of migration intentions, this study shows that 70 % had intended to migrate within the next ten years. The result further shows that the United Kingdom, United States and Canada are the preferred destinations of the health professionals. More than half (52.1 %) of the health professionals intend to emigrate within the next five years. Reasons cited for migrating from the country included financial considerations and the desire for higher learning or skills and to experience life abroadFinally, it was realized that despite the fact that some health professionals are better off under the SSSS, most of them however declared their intentions to migrate irrespective of the impact of the single spine pay policy on their salaries. This therefore implies that, the SSSS is insignificant to a large extent on the migration intentions of health professionals in the Accra metropolis. It is therefore recommend that more health training institutions should be built to absolve more doctors and nurses. Again a further increase in salaries and allowances as well as better conditions of service should be ensured to motivate them to stay and work in the country.
Evolution and nature of diaspora engagement policies in Ghana.
(Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2016) Teye, J. K.; Alhassan, O.; Setrana, M.
This chapter examines evolution and nature of Ghana’s diaspora engagement policies and programs, using Alan Gamlen’s framework on diaspora engagement policies. It specifically discusses capacity building of state institutions, strategies aimed at extending rights to the Ghanaian diaspora, and programs initiated to incentivize the Ghanaian diaspora to participate in national development through their skills and financial resource transfers. The chapter also discusses the major challenges associated with previous interventions aimed at engaging the Ghanaian diaspora, noting among others that a consistent shift from ad hoc to more institutionally coordinated policies and programs for diaspora engagement now drives the process. The chapter concludes by highlighting lessons learned from Ghana’s experience and making recommendations for enhancing the country’s relationship with its diaspora.
Please, thank you and sorry – brokering migration and constructing identities for domestic work in Ghana
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2018-11) Awumbila, M.; Deshingkar, P.; Kandilige, L.; Teye, J.K.; Setrana, M.
Drawing on interviews with migrant domestic workers and brokers in Accra-Tema, the capital city of Ghana, this paper throws light on the everyday practices of brokers in producing ideal workers for urban middle class and expatriate families as well as overseas employment. The authors map the different kinds of brokers who are involved in the selection and placement of domestic workers and show how they filter and represent workers to potential employers. Women and girls from the poorer north and Volta regions are positioned into precarious employment with an ever-present risk of abuse, non-payment and sexual exploitation. In the absence of effective state protection these workers depend heavily on brokers for negotiating better working conditions and switching jobs if they are in a difficult position. By examining such dynamics the authors demonstrate how the process of brokerage itself offers these workers opportunities for exercising agency that have the potential of setting them on an upward path. The authors conclude with calls for a more nuanced and differentiated understanding of the role and the practices of brokers to better inform Ghana’s efforts to minimise exploitation of domestic workers.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?’ Exploring return migration and reintegration processes in Ghana
(University of Ghana, 2019-03-20) Kleist, N.; Setrana, M.
The question of return migration and reintegration are central in many migrants’ lives and in migration policies. Returning for shorter or longer periods of time, perhaps after years abroad, requires consideration and preparation. In some cases, the return has been prepared for years, in other relocation to Ghana is sudden and involuntary, enforced by migration crisis or deportation. In others again, the return is temporary, followed by re-migration or extensive transnational mobility. In this talk, two MIASA Fellows, Dr. Nauja Kleist, Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and Dr. Mary Setrana, Centre for Studies, UG, bring together their extensive research on return migration to Ghana and reintegration processes. We explore the many meanings of return migration to Ghana, with focus on how different groups of Ghanaian return migrants articulate their migration, return experience and post-return life, with emphasis on the role of transnational and translocal links and networks in the return process and post-return. The paper spans several groups of returnees, from highly skilled experts who have become part of Ghanaian elite strata, entrepreneurs, and migrants who have engaged in precarious and high-risk migration projects and been forcefully relocated through deportation or flight or evacuation from migration crisis or conflict. We propose that inequality is reflected not only in the access to migration but also in the ways that migrants return and their post-return life, including ongoing mobility practices.
They'd beat us with whatever is available to them’: Exploitation and abuse of Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East
(International Migration., 2021) Kandilige, L.; Teye, J.K.; Setrana, M.; Badasu, D.M.
Generic accounts of pervasive cases of exploitation and abuse against migrant domestic workers in the Middle East exist in the extant literature. However, very little is known about the breadth, depth and gendered nature of abuses experienced by female migrants from especially the sub-Saharan African region. Abuses of the rights of sub-Saharan Africans are under-represented and under-theorised. This paper interrogates the question what is the nature, extent and severity of exploitation and abuse against female Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East? Using data from mixed-methods research, this paper adopts the framework of structural, symbolic and interpersonal violence to examine the range of abuses against domestic workers and the context within which these abuses take place
Where do you come from, where do you go? Assessing skills gaps and labour market outcomes for young adults with different immigration backgrounds
(International Journal of Educational Development, 2021) Cathles, A.; Ou, D.; Sasso, S.; Setrana, M.; Veen, T.V.
Using PISA and PIAAC data from twelve OECD countries, we examine the gap in cognitive skills among immigrants and natives and evaluate how those differences have evolved over time. We also consider how demographics, family background and school quality explain the development of cognitive skills of young people with immigrant backgrounds. The results show, first, that some convergence in skills occurs between secondgeneration immigrants and natives over time. Second, demographics, family background and school quality variables all contribute to the achievement gaps across different groups.