Circular Temporary Labour Migration: Reassessing Established Public Policies

Abstract

Circular Temporary Labour Migration (CTLM) is being promoted as an innovative and viable way of regulating the flow of labour migrants. Based on a specific empirical case study, we identify an unexpected outcome of CTLM programmes: the emergence of a new empirical migrant category, the circular labour migrant , which is as yet theoretically unnamed and lacks recognition by public institutions. We argue that, to date, there have been two historical phases of circular labour migration: one with total deregulation and another with partial regulation, involving private actors supported by public institutions. In a developed welfare state context, it would be normatively pertinent to expect a step towards a third phase, involving the institutionalization of this new trend in mobility by the formulation of a public policy. Current legal, political, social, and economic frameworks have to be reassessed in order to recognise the category of the circular labour migrant .