Justice and injustice at work : access to justice for undocumented migrant workers in France

Abstract

The increasing interest in the topic of undocumented migrants has led the research community to focus on the interaction between labour law and immigration law and its effect on working and living conditions of undocumented migrant workers. Taking cues from this perspective of research, our study aims at showing that the intertwinement of labour law and the tightening of immigration laws and policies in France can impact negatively on labour rights of undocumented migrants, and particularly on the right to access to justice. The possibility to access labour courts is crucial in that it guarantees other labour rights. Le Tribunal des Prudh’ommes, the French labour court, is open to all workers, regardless to their migration status. However, only a few undocumented migrant workers choose to go to court. This situation can be analysed as the consequence of the tense interplay between evolutions in immigration laws and policies and labour law