Interrogating temporary labour migration schemes: A multiscalar perspective on institutional precarity

Temporary labour migration (TLM) schemes have moved from being peripheral policy ‘fixes’ to becoming a core structural feature of transnational labour governance. This paper critically interrogates these schemes through the lens of institutional precarity , which we define not merely as a set of downstream effects on migrants, but as a deliberate multiscalar structure of control that organises both the labour process and social reproduction. By analysing the complex and relational forces underpinning these regimes, we demonstrate how institutional precarity is constituted through the interactions of a variety of actors – from international organisations to private recruiters – operating within a multiscalar governance space. Using a preliminary research design, we focus on three critical policy domains – recruitment, housing and skills – to illustrate how institutional precarity is embedded across key sites of migration governance. Our findings, drawn from expert interviews at the International Labour Organization and global trade unions, field observation of various policymaking consultations and workshops, and archival research, highlight how these domains act as circuits of value where migrant precarity is structurally produced and maintained. We conclude by noting that while this preliminary research illuminates the structural design and implementation of TLM, it does so by offering an analytical framework that future research can refine and extend through more robust empirical investigation of the agency of institutional actors and the growing complexity of scalar articulations in migration governance.